All posts by Justin Levitt

New Kansas photo ID lawsuit filed

June 26, 2013, 9:06 pmvoter idJustin Levitt

Trying to keep Texas company, I suppose. From this report: Hamner and Spry, who didn’t have a government-issued identity card with a photograph proving they were Kansans in good standing, voted with provisional ballots in November 2012. Their… Continue reading

David Schultz on ranked choice voting

June 26, 2013, 9:06 pmalternative voting systemsJustin Levitt

Schultz discusses the ranked choice system and the Minneapolis mayor’s race. Note that there’s an ongoing dispute about spoiled ballots and errors in 2009: it will be interesting to see if the rate drops this year, with a little… Continue reading

Reactions to Shelby County: Linda Greenhouse

June 26, 2013, 9:05 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

I’d been waiting for this. It begins: “While any racial discrimination in voting is too much,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told us in Tuesday’s decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, “Congress must ensure that the legislation it… Continue reading

Reactions to Shelby County: Donna Brazile

June 26, 2013, 9:04 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Today, if President Barack Obama wants to save the Voting Rights Act following Tuesday’s shameful Supreme Court ruling, then he faces an even bigger challenge than Johnson did: He’s got to convince a much more hostile Congress that the act… Continue reading

Reactions to Shelby County: Artur Davis

June 26, 2013, 9:04 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

His Politico op-ed, here: With this week’s historic decision, the U.S. Supreme Court did not actually strike down Section 5 of the Voting Right Act (VRA), which mandates advance federal approval, or pre-clearance, of changes to election procedures in… Continue reading

New Yorker on Shelby County

June 26, 2013, 9:03 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

The New Yorker has a somewhat different take: Among the many things that can be gleaned from Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision eviscerating the Voting Rights Act is this: we live in an era of American history which is, if not… Continue reading

National Review on Shelby County

June 26, 2013, 9:02 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

It begins: For anyone other than a “social justice” demagogue, the Supreme Court’s Shelby decision, striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), is cause for celebration. In real life, this is a success story: A society… Continue reading

Morning Edition on Shelby County

June 26, 2013, 7:49 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

A report that I’d somehow missed in all of the SCOTUS frenzy this morning.

Reactions to Shelby County: Richard Epstein

June 26, 2013, 7:48 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Richard Epstein applauds the decision, taking on Rick Hasen’s NY Times op-ed, here: In his New York Times op-ed, “The Chief Justice’s Long Game,” Richard L. Hasen, a noted authority on voting rights, takes deep umbrage… Continue reading

Reactions to Shelby County: Morgan Kousser

June 26, 2013, 6:01 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

I’ve tried to make the case that the very process of bailout established a continuing connection between current conditions and the 2006 formula for section 4. Here, Morgan Kousser presents one of the alternative continuing connections, with detailed data showing… Continue reading

New voter ID suit in Texas

June 26, 2013, 2:31 pmvoter id, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Michael Li brings word of a new lawsuit filed this morning against Texas’s strict photo ID law, under the Constitution and section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Fret not, BigLaw, there’s still business for your pro bono.

Reactions to Shelby County: Nick Stephanopoulos

June 26, 2013, 2:28 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Here, at HuffPo, discussing districts that were protected under section 5 but that may not be protected under section 2: In a dramatic decision yesterday, the Supreme Court essentially obliterated one of the two pillars of the Voting Rights… Continue reading

“Voting Rights Ruling a Blow to Big Firms’ Pro Bono Push”

June 26, 2013, 2:15 pmelection law biz, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

A fascinating angle on the impact of Shelby County … to BigLaw. There have been many Shelby County reaction pieces in the last two days. This is not one I saw coming.