The Obama Project@WindonWater.net

A Turning Point for Voting Rights Law – Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com.
The New York Times has created a blog called “Room for Debate” – in which prominant Times contributors debate various thorny issues in the news.  It is a wonderful contribution to the ongoing struggle for genuinely trustworthy, nonpartisan education on various issues, and I heartily recommend it.

This issue relates to the  Voting Rights Act reauthorization – and I’m posting because so far I feel myself unable to follow the argument.  The argument (and therefore presumably, the law itself) seems to hinge on two separate issues, but commentators seem to address only one at a time.  The first is a concern about laws that would prohibit or suppress minority (in general, black in particular) votes, and the second is a concern about districting.  While I can see how they are related – they don’t seem to be the same at all – and it seems therefore that those in favor and those opposed to recertification are talking past each other.

I’ll be digging more into the issue – but if anyone has more to share on the topic, please do!

QT

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