ABSTRACT
For Rohr, the manifestation of regime values contained in the U.S. Constitution are best understood by analyzing Supreme Court decisions. Most recently, the Supreme Court significantly narrowed the regime by permitting voting restrictions that disproportionately impact African Americans. This chapter examines the ruling and subsequent implementation of this landmark 2013 decision, Shelby v. Holder, which ruled core aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional. Following the ruling, several states formerly covered under provisions of the Voting Rights Act passed laws removing provisions such as early voting and online voter registration; while some states have also implemented more restrictive voter identification laws and purged voter rolls more aggressively. There are important racial implications of these changes, particularly for African Americans, including the closing of polling locations in predominately African American communities. In examining ease or difficulty of voting restrictions, in general, states with large African American populations have stricter voting; and states with higher white populations have more voting ease. The aftermath of Shelby v. Holder offers a critical social equity paradox by significantly reducing voting protections derived from the original intent of the 15th Amendment. This signals a fundamental shift in the composition of the voting regime and raises compelling social equity concerns.
