Today, the Supreme Court will hear a case; the outcome of which could make it harder for communities of color to register and vote.
It would still be a problem even if the country was not in the midst of the most aggressive attack on voting rights since the Jim Crow era, and if more than 40 states had not introduced voter suppression legislation since 2011.
The implications of this case are, quite frankly, monumental. This is why:
This case (Shelby County v. Holder) is a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Section 5 requires certain states and jurisdictions to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before they change laws around voting.
In the last year alone, Section 5 enabled the Department of Justice to block voter suppression initiatives in Texas, South Carolina, and Florida. In other words: Section 5 matters.
If the Supreme Court strikes Section 5 down, millions of voters will be at risk of having their rights infringed upon by those determined to block access to the ballot. We can’t let that happen.
Raise awareness of this threat to our voting rights by sharing our graphic on Facebook:
http://action.naacp.org/vra-share
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