In 2014 the Supreme Court rescinded key portions of the Voting Rights Act with a 5-to-4 vote. Chief Justice Roberts, in writing the majority decision, argued that the act was no longer necessary, indicating that “largely because of the Voting Rights Act, voting tests were abolished, disparities in voter registration and turnout due to race were erased and African-Americans attained political office in record numbers” (New York Times, 2013, 2015).
Does this tell the whole story? Brennan Center President Michael Waldman explains the repercussions of that decision.