Voting Rights Act will operate in limited capacity this election, leaving voters without federal oversight

For the first time in over 50 years, the Voting Rights Act does not have the power to check state laws for discriminatory practices

The impending presidential election will be the first election in more than five decades that voters will not be under the full protection of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — an act which was passed during the Civil Rights Era to protect minority voters.

The act was a major piece of legislation which aimed to protect disenfranchised voters, namely Black voters from suppression. It was a landmark piece of legislation which was in full-effect up until 2013 when it was stripped of certain powers by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The VRA was to supplement the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed the right to vote to any person, regardless of color or race.

Here’s what the 2013 decision could mean for this election:

Supreme Court Decision

In the 2013 Supreme Court case Shelby V. Holder, the court decided on whether Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was constitutional. Section 4 laid out a set of jurisdictions that decided whether or not a state should be required to submit voting legislation to the Department of Justice for approval.

It was struck down 5-4, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. outlined the court's logic in the majority opinion.

“Our country has changed,” he said in the opinion. “And while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.”

Many civil rights leaders decried the decision as a major blow to civil rights. The debate continues to this day.

Rev. William Barber testified at a Phoenix Democratic National Convention Committee platform drafting committee to outline what he said was the importance of the VRA.

Read more: Phoenix DNC hearing showcases environmental reform, universal healthcare

“Today, because of the actions of five supreme court justices and Republican congressional leadership that has refused to do its job, the march of history has regressed,” Barber said at the DNCC. “Much of the ink has been erased, and the U.S Attorney General has less power today to enforce voting rights and voting protection than the attorney general had Aug. 7 1965, the day after the voting rights act was signed.”

Barber was among one of many to urge voter protection as a part of the Democratic platform.

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