Voter Suppression has always been part of the plan
By The Central Call News Desk
- We need to remember how hard these organzations worked to deny our right to vote.
- We need to remember what our parents and grandparents went through gain our voting rights.
- And we need to use this right in every election, every initiative, every referendum and every proposition.
Here are 10 significant legal cases from 1960 to the present where jurisdictions used legal mechanisms or loopholes to suppress minority voting rights:
1. **Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)**
The Supreme Court ruled that Alabama’s redrawing of Tuskegee’s city boundaries to exclude nearly all Black voters violated the Fifteenth Amendment, marking a key early victory against racial gerrymandering.
2. **Mobile v. Bolden (1980)**
The Court held that plaintiffs must prove intentional racial discrimination (not just discriminatory effects) to challenge at-large voting systems under the Fifteenth Amendment, raising the legal bar for vote dilution claims.
3. **Thornburg v. Gingles (1986)**
The Court established the framework for proving vote dilution under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, allowing challenges to multimember districts that weaken minority voting strength.
4. **Shelby County v. Holder (2013)**
The Court invalidated Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which determined which jurisdictions required federal preclearance for voting changes. This effectively dismantled a core enforcement mechanism, enabling a wave of restrictive laws.
5. **Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008)**
The Court upheld Indiana’s strict voter ID law, opening the door for other states to enact similar laws that disproportionately affect minority, elderly, and low-income voters.
6. **North Carolina v. Covington (2017)**
The Court ruled on racial gerrymandering, but its decision limited the scope of remedies, allowing states to redraw districts without fully addressing racial bias in mapmaking.
7. **Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (2021)**
The Court upheld two Arizona voting policies—a ban on ballot collection and discarding of out-of-precinct ballots—making it harder to challenge laws with disproportionate impacts on minority voters.
8. **Allen v. Milligan (2023)**
The Court ruled that Alabama’s congressional map diluted Black voting power, affirming that such gerrymandering violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and requiring a second majority-Black district.
9. **Common Cause v. Rucho (2019)**
While focused on partisan gerrymandering, the decision allowed extreme redistricting that often overlaps with racial discrimination, removing federal judicial oversight and enabling minority vote dilution.
10. **United States v. Texas (2023 – 5th Circuit Ruling)**
A federal appeals court ruled that only the federal government—not private citizens or civil rights groups—can sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, threatening the ability to challenge discriminatory voting laws.
