It is worth noting that when the Supreme Court rendered its most recent decision on whether to uphold Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in the Austin Municipal district case, Justice Clarence Thomas was the only one to vote against it in the 8-1 decision
It is worth noting that when the Supreme Court rendered its most recent decision on whether to uphold Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in the Austin Municipal district case, Justice Clarence Thomas was the only one to vote against it in the 8-1 decision.
That isolated vote was a monumental confirmation of many things his opponents have been saying about his lack of fidelity – indeed his hostility – to the African-American civil rights tradition. What makes it so bad was he was wrong on the basis for his rejection of the responsibility of the Justice Department to pre-clear changes in voting procedures for certain selected states that have historically practiced discrimination.
Some aspects of Thomas’ logic as stated in his dissenting opinion was that: “The extensive pattern of discrimination that led the Court to previously uphold Section 5 as enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment no longer exists. Covered Jurisdictions are not now engaged in a systematic campaign to deny Black citizens access to the ballot through intimidation and violence.”
As a result, “Punishment for long past sins is not a legitimate basis for imposing a forward-looking preventative measure that has already served its purpose.”
Clearly, Thomas’ analysis is rooted in a past notion of what constitutes Black voter disenfranchisement. He declares that the “extensive pattern of discrimination no longer exists” and seems to define it as that kind of discrimination fostered by widespread “intimidation and violence.”
This may be true, but if Thomas was alive in 2000 and 2004, he saw an extensive pattern of Black voter disenfranchisement, not only in Florida and Ohio but in other states as well.
The new tactics are based on skillful manipulation of aspects of the voting system. When voter lists are purged and Black voters disproportionately taken off, the notorious reason in Florida in 2000 was that they were wrongly perceived to be felons. Republicans have been known to practice “vote caging” in Black districts, sending postcards to find out if they are returned saying the person registered to vote does not live there.
Black votes are disproportionately spoiled by voting machines for a host of reasons, and Blacks have also been denied access to provisional ballots in some places. Sufficient voting equipment is often unavailable in Black districts, and officials are often not as helpful.
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