Lyle Denniston has a very helpful piece at ScotusBlog that explains how the Voting Rights Act works and how the Department of Justice is attempting to enforce it in the aftermath of the Shelby County v. Holder ruling. I’m somewhat relieved to learn that the Justice Department still has tools that it can use to prevent racial discrimination in our elections, and that it can use them preemptively. At least, that’s the case right now. They will be challenged on their new strategy, too, and we know how sympathetic the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is.
