Restricting Voting Rights in Modern America

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder ruling invalidating Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is in part a product of efforts to resist further transformations to the traditional American institutional arrangements that have conferred advantages on whites, especially disproportionate political power. Those efforts in resistance are not likely to succeed in the long run. But they may embroil American elections and American governance in paralyzing conflicts for years to come.