A little over a year ago, I wrote that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice may have gambled away Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act by blocking a South Carolina voter-ID law on its basis. Holder blocked a law that matches another in Indiana, which had already passed constitutional muster, but Indiana isn’t one of the states that needs “pre-clearance” on any changes to electoral law. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments on another case that could spell the end of the clause that forces a number of states even before they get to South Carolina:

The Voting Rights Act gave the federal government greater powers to prevent racial discrimination. For the past 48 years, the Justice Department has routinely monitored elections and reviewed changes to any voting rules, ranging from poll locations and hours, to registration and identification requirements and the redrawing of legislative district lines.

The issue before the Supreme Court in next Wednesday’s oral arguments in “Shelby County v. Holder” is just one part of the Voting Rights Act – Section 5 – which requires 9 states and parts of 7 others to obtain Justice Department approval, known as “preclearance,” before changing voting laws or maps.

Some of the states covered in full by the Act, like Alabama, where the plaintiff’s case originated, contend that Section 5 is an outdated burden, because racial discrimination is “scattered and limited.”

“It’s not the same as it was as 1964, and to use a test from 1964 is way out of date,” Shelby County Attorney Frank Ellis told CBS News Affiliate WIAT/Birmingham. “It’s time for it to be set aside.”

The act’s defenders believe the law is as relevant as ever and look no further than last year’s election, when states such as Florida and Ohio shortened the days and times for the ever popular early voting.

Proponents also point to a surge in states passing laws requiring voters to produce a government-issued photo ID in order to exercise their right to vote.

Four southern states covered by the Voting Rights Act – Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas — and one northern one, New Hampshire — were among 10 states to adopt strict photo voter ID laws in the past two years. Earlier, Georgia and Louisiana did so.

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Read more + video:http://hotair.com/archives/2013/02/25/vi...-act-this-week/

What in the hell does producing an id in america have to do with the voting rights act, you cannot fart in america without a picture id anymore and everybody has one. Even illegals have fake ones. The democraps that argue this stuff are ignorant.