Language for extending the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act will be released later today. I’ll post the language later today when it is publicly available. Meanwhile, Ed Blum is not happy:

Over the last few years, the Supreme Court has tried to clear up some of the confusion it previously created over how states must draw districts in order to comply with Section 5. One case in particular, Georgia v. Ashcroft, gave state legislatures more leeway in unpacking minorities from ultra-safe minority districts. The Court noted in a 5-4 decision that minorities’ interests may be better served if they aren’t stuffed into one district, creating a majority of minorities, but instead spread into surrounding districts where they may have greater influence in election contests. The conservatives on the court–Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy–joined the majority opinion written by Justice O’Connor by noting that “the Voting Rights Act, as properly interpreted, should encourage the transition to a society where race no longer matters.”
So what does the Republican Congress plan to do with this valuable legal doctrine? Well, they plan to overturn it by making compliance with Section 5 dependent upon the election of minority-preferred candidates. This will ensure heavily packed minority congressional districts that stifle competition, ideologically polarize elections, and insulate Republican representatives from minorities and minority representatives from Republicans.

Others are happier. More to come….