Supreme Court Appears Ready to Nuke the Voting Rights Act

A key pillar of American civil rights law is now in danger of being nullified by the Supreme Court.  Shelby County, Alabama, is seeking to have Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the law that first guaranteed the right of blacks in the South to vote, declared unconstitutional. Section 5 forces areas of the country with a history of discrimination—mostly, but not entirely in the South—to ask the Department of Justice for its approval before making any changes to election rules. ...