Republicans across the U.S. can thank the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts as they enact the country’s most significant voting restrictions in generations.
The court’s watershed 2013 Shelby County ruling created a glide path for many of election changes GOP-controlled legislatures are pushing this year. The Roberts-written decision wiped out the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s requirement that jurisdictions with a deep history of discrimination get federal preclearance before changing their voting rules.
Texas is poised to join Georgia as a GOP-controlled state using its newfound freedom from that requirement to enact measures that critics say suppress voting by racial minorities. Other states that weren’t subject to preclearance, including Florida, are also passing restrictions, creating a cascade of new voting laws that could boost Republicans in the 2022 and 2024 elections.