Voting Rights, by the Numbers

William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of History and Social Science J. Morgan Kousser's recent study provides the foundation for the lead editorial in the April 19 New York Times.

The editorial calls into question the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 ruling to strike down the heart of the Voting Rights Act—its preclearance requirement—citing Kousser's study as evidence that discriminatory voting practices are still prevalent. As explained in Kousser's study, "Based on the largest database of voting rights 'events'–successful lawsuits, Section 5 Justice Department objections and 'more information requests,' and consent decrees or settlements out of court that led to pro-minority changes–ever compiled, this paper provides a unique overview of the history of U.S. voting rights from 1957, when the first U.S. civil rights law in 82 years passed, through 2013. It shows that the Chief Justice's factual assertions were incorrect, that the coverage formula was still congruent with proven violations, and that to the extent that recorded violations had decreased, that was not because problems had ended, but because the Supreme Court had made it more difficult to win lawsuits."