Alabama’s practice of discriminating against minorities at the ballot box is a relic from a bygone era and the state no longer deserves to be punished for it, according to papers Alabama’s attorney general has filed with the Supreme Court. “Alabama has a new generation of leaders with no connection to the tragic events of 1965,” Attorney General Luther Strange wrote in a brief filed last week. “The effects of those events on voting and political representation have now, thankfully, faded away.”
Strange filed the brief to support a challenge brought by Shelby County to two key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The provisions require Alabama and all or part of 15 other states to ask the Justice Department or a federal court for approval before making any changes to election procedures. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Feb. 27.
The “preclearance” requirement applies to areas with a history of discrimination in running elections. Congress voted overwhelmingly in 2006 to renew the entire Voting Rights Act for 25 years. In 2010, Shelby County — a conservative, mostly white county south of Birmingham — filed a lawsuit contending that the requirement is outdated and unfair.