The wrongs of the Voting Rights Act

A few sections of the federal Voting Rights Act are up for renewal this year. The Heritage Foundation has a slew of links to various articles arguing that Congress should carefully consider the implications of extending those provisions.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is particularly troubling. It requires a few states and districts - almost exclusively in the South - to "preclear" all changes in election procedures with the U.S. Justice Department. By "election procedures," I mean all election procedures - from drawing legislative district lines to determining the location of polling places.

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has expressed reservations about renewing Section 5, as have several Republican members of the House. Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor called Section 5 "an affront to federalism and an expensive burden that has far outlived its usefulness."

Section 5 was intended to be a temporary measure to rectify the disenfranchisement of blacks and other minorities that existed at the time of the act's passage. Today, the South has more black elected officials than any other section of the country, and the rights of voters are as well protected here as they are in any other region. Accusations that a failure to renew Section 5's preclearance requirements would "turn back the clock on civil rights" are absurd. Congress should either refuse to renew Section 5, or amend it so that it no longer subjects Alabama and other Southern states to requirements that are not imposed on the rest of the country.