After years of preclearance and expansion of voting access,
by 2013 African American registration and turnout rates had
finally reached near-parity with white registration and turnout
rates. African Americans were poised to act as a major
electoral force. But, on the day after the Supreme Court issued
Shelby County v. Holder, 133 S. Ct. 2612 (2013), eliminating
preclearance obligations, a leader of the party that newly
dominated the legislature (and the party that rarely enjoyed
African American support) announced an intention to enact what
he characterized as an “omnibus” election law.
Before enacting
that law, the legislature requested data on the use, by race, of
a number of voting practices. Upon receipt of the race data,
the General Assembly enacted legislation that restricted voting
and registration in five different ways, all of which
disproportionately affected African Americans.
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