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Voter suppression battle in the United States: An Update
African American voters. PHOTO/Lynne Sladky/AP
The US Department of Justice took an important step in combating the epidemic of Republican vote suppression efforts on Friday. The Justice Department blocked a South Carolina law requiring voters to present photo identification, because the law would disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters. South Carolina is one of the states that under the Voting Rights Act (VRA), due to a history of discriminatory practices, must obtain pre-clearance from the Justice Department for new voting requirements. The Justice Department must certify that such laws are not discriminatory in their impact, not just in their intent.
According to South Carolina, 240,000 registered voters lack the requisite identification. That alone should be a cause for concern. But the legal problem for South Carolina arises from the fact that those without photo identification are more likely to be African-American than white. They also tend to be younger, poorer and thus more Democratic-leaning.
