(Falls Church, VA) The Center for Equal Opportunity praised the Supreme Court’s decision today striking down as unconstitutional the coverage formula of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. CEO had filed amicus briefs at both the petition stage and on the merits, urging this result. In addition, CEO chairman Linda Chavez and its president and general counsel Roger Clegg had testified against re-enacting Section 5 when it was before Congress in 2006.
Ms. Chavez said: “The Court made clear today that in 2013 there is no justification for treating the states unequally and subjecting only some of them to extraordinarily intrusive federal oversight, based on obsolete data. This does not turn the clock back; it simply recognizes that times have changed.“
Mr. Clegg warned: “No doubt some in Congress will try to use this decision as an excuse to pass unnecessary and partisan-motivated legislation. But the fact is that the principal use to which Section 5 has been put in recent years is ensuring racially gerrymandered and segregated voting districts, and the country is well rid of that. Kudos to the Supreme Court.”
The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization that studies issues relating to race and ethnicity nationwide.
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7700 Leesburg Pike, Suite 231 • Falls Church, VA 22043 • (703) 442-0066 • www.ceousa.org
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