Rss@dailykos.com (meteor Blades) · Monday, August 01, 2016, 5:17 pm
Last month was a good one for the foes of voter suppression. On July 20, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as racially discriminatory the Texas voter ID law. On July 29, the 4th Circuit Court struck down North Carolina’s law that included a strict voter ID requirement, ended same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting, and pre-registration, all of which the court ruling said was “passed with racially discriminatory intent” and “targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision.” And on the same day, a federal district judge ruled against a chunk of Wisconsin’s voter law, including voter ID, reduced early voting, and a prohibition on emailing or faxing absentee ballots.
These are three victories that could make a difference come November.
But state laws are only one way voter suppression is being exacted since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 2013 ruling in the 5-4 Shelby County v. Holder case that eviscerated a key piece of the Voting Rights Act.
Michael Wines at The New York Times reports that counties and municipalities are getting into the act. Voters are being purged and the results in many cases give white politicians an advantage at the polls:
The local voting changes have often gone unnoticed and unchallenged. A June survey by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund found that governments in six former pre-clearance states have closed registration or polling places, making it harder for minorities to vote. Local jurisdictions in six more redrew districts or changed election rules in ways that diluted minorities’ votes. […
In Macon-Bibb County, Ga., in February, the elections board moved a polling place in a predominantly black neighborhood from a gymnasium that was being renovated to the county sheriff’s office. Officials changed the location to a church after a petition drive legally forced a reversal.
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