An Essay on Voting Rights in the United States: Continuing the History of Discrimination Against Minority Voters or the Subject of Permissible Partisan Gerrymandering?

Abstract

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) transformed American democracy by giving the federal government practical tools to combat racial discrimination in voting, most notably through Section 5 preclearance and Section 2 litigation. This article examines whether the United States Supreme Court has so limited those tools that the Act no longer fulfills its historic purpose. It situates the VRA within the history of Black disenfranchisement and the events surrounding Selma’s Bloody Sunday, then analyzes the Court’s modern voting-rights jurisprudence. Shelby County v. Holder disabled the Section 5 preclearance regime by invalidating its coverage formula; Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee narrowed the availability of Section 2 vote-denial claims; and subsequent redistricting decisions have intensified the tension between remedies for racial vote dilution and constitutional limits on race-conscious districting. Although the VRA remains in force, and Congress retains authority to enact a contemporary coverage formula, the Court’s decisions have shifted enforcement from proactive federal review to slower, more costly, and less certain postelection litigation. The article concludes that the VRA has not been erased, but its capacity to prevent and remedy racial discrimination in voting has been significantly weakened.