The unfinished battle: Shelby County v. Holder and the fight for voting rights today 

On this day 10 years ago, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). That decision has been devastating for voters of color and our representative democracy. And while the court’s recent decision in Allen v. Milliganregarding racial gerrymandering that upheld Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is a favorable step, it is small in comparison to the rights restoration needed to the Voting Rights Act following its previous ruling in another Alabama case — Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder in 2013. 

When the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, it eliminated the most powerful tool available to prevent racial discrimination in voting. Before the Shelby decision, jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting had to seek federal approval before changing election laws, preventing laws and policies from harming voters before they had a chance to be implemented. This ruling opened the doors for restrictive voting laws that harm communities of color.  

This landmark decision threatened nearly 50 years of fundamental protections against racial discrimination in our elections. It was a devastating day for our democracy, and 10 years later, we are still experiencing the impact of Shelby, and fighting the anti-voter laws that emerged as a result. In many ways, this decision has taken voting rights back to the days of Jim Crow. 

In Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent in Shelby County, she famously said, “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” 

At the time, the League of Women Voters and other pro-voter groups knew exactly what would happen without the umbrella of Section 5: our democracy would get drenched in anti-voter laws.  

According to a report issued by the Leadership Conference Education Fund, between 2012 and 2018 — 1,688 polling places were closed in jurisdictions that were formerly covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Post-Shelby County, there was no oversight of those closures. 

Fast forward 10 years to 2023, and what we expected came to fruition if not a greater nightmare for our democracy. 

Since the Shelby County decision removed oversight of voting changes in states with histories of racial discrimination in voting, previously covered states have consistently introduced and passed laws that make voting harder, especially for historically disenfranchised communities. For example, following the 2020 election, Georgia’s governor signed a bill into law, which reduced the number of ballot drop boxes in communities of color, limited voting hours, added additional voter ID requirements, and made it illegal to provide those waiting in line with food or water, among other restrictions. Notably, in 2021, the first redistricting cycle without the protections of Section 5 began. States and jurisdictions that previously were required to submit their redistricting plans to the Department of Justice could redistrict without any oversight. As the number of cases challenging redistricting plans and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Allen v. Milligandemonstrate, racial discrimination is alive and well in previously covered jurisdictions. 

So, what does that mean for our democracy? It means, without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, there will be a constant battle to ensure voting rights are equal and fair for everyone.

The work of organizers, advocates, and voting rights organizations has brought significant victories in voter access in the last ten years, but the work on the ground must not be a substitute for serious action for voting rights from our elected leaders in Congress.  

We need our elected leaders in the House and Senate to act and make voting rights a priority in this country. We’ve seen what happens when state legislation goes unchecked — voting rights are undenied and our democracy is undermined.  

No other decision has impacted our democracy as much as Shelby County. And 10 years later, the fight for voting rights continues to be an uphill challenge. But it doesn’t have to be.  

It’s time for Congress to renew the promise of voting rights and restore the Voting Rights Act to its full power now before more voters are prevented from participating in the next election. 

Virginia Kase Solomón is the CEO of the LWVUS and serves on the boards of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the board of directors for the Project on Government Oversight and is a member of the National Election Task Force on Election Crises.