CIR asks Court to review Kinston, NC case

Together with lead counsel Michael Carvin, CIR today filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in Nix et al. v. Holder, its case challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The petition argues that the increasingly aggressive use of Section 5 to prevent implementation of voter ID laws and other nondiscriminatory state and local election laws requires a prompt determination of whether Section 5 remains a constitutional exercise of Congress’s authority. The petition notes that Nix v. Holder is the only pending challenge that raises problems with the 2006 amendments to Section 5, which require that proposed voting changes be evaluated exclusively in terms of their ability to maximize the ability of minority voters to elect minority candidates. The petition notes that this type of race conscious decision making is severely at odds with the Constitution’s prohibition of racial discrimination.

      • Read the petition
      • Read the press release
      • Read Lyle Denniston’s ScotusBlog post
      • Read Chicago Tribune story on CIR’s petition