David Gans of the Constitutional Accountability Center spoke on Shelby County v. Holder, which will be heard by the Supreme Court on February 27.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of our nation’s most effective federal civil rights statutes, and Shelby County, Alabama has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which is widely regarded as the heart of the legislation. The issue the Court will address is whether Congress’ decision in 2006 to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act under the pre-existing coverage formula of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act exceeded its authority under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and thus violated the Tenth Amendment and Article IV of the United States Constitution.