How has the Voting Rights Act been challenged and interpreted since its passage?
In City of Mobile v. Bolden, the Supreme Court narrowly interprets the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition against denying the right to vote on account of race or ethnicity by ruling that voters must prove racially discriminatory intent in order to establish a violation of the Act. This decision was overturned by Congress in the 1982 reauthorization of the Act, making it clear that a violation of Section 2’s prohibition against discrimination can be established by proving discriminatory effect alone, rather than having to show discriminatory purpose.
