Section 5 of the VRA

(via Carmi) SCOTUS is set to hear arguments tomorrow on one of the biggest cases this session. The question presented in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility Dist. No. 1 v. Holder is whether "Congress overstep[ed] its constitutional power in 2006 by reauthorizing Section 5 of the[Voting Rights Act], which requires states and localities with a history of discrimination to obtain federal permission before making changes to their voting procedures?"

Section 5 is central to the VRA, and a legacy of the civil rights movement ... but it was enacted to combat voting restrictions during Jim Crow - so the looming question is whether it's still needed in the age of Obama!