Congress Must Restore Preclearance to Provision to the Voting Rights Act

June 25 marked the 11th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which stripped the Voting Rights Act of a key protection and unleashed a decade of racially discriminatory voting policies and gerrymandering. Before 2013, places with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices were required to obtain approval from the federal government for any changes to voting laws and policies, a process called preclearance. Between 2012 and 2022, white voters continuously cast ballots at significantly higher rates than voters of color across the country. This difference, known as the racial turnout gap, grew almost twice as fast in the places that, before Shelby County, were covered by the Voting Rights Act’s preclearance protections. Kareem Crayton is the Brennan Center for Justice senior director for voting and representation. He joins us from Washington DC to discuss the legacy of Shelby County v. Holder and why congressional legislation is needed to restore voting rights act protections.