Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder
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Section Five of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires areas of the United States with a history of voting discrimination to pre-clear any changes in voting rules or election practices with either the Justice Department or a federal court. The Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District was covered by Section Five, and in 2006 the District brought suit challenging the application of Section Five to their district.
The United States Supreme Court heard the case on April 29, 2009 and released its opinion on June 22, 2009. It avoided the controversial issue of whether the Section Five pre-clearance requirement is constitutional, and instead issued a narrow opinion holding only that the District was eligible to apply for an exemption from the preclearance requirement. Though this will probably not be the last challenge to Section Five of the VRA, for now this important civil rights legislation has been kept intact.
News Articles
Supreme Court Avoids Voting Rights Act Showdown – NPR – June 22, 2009
Supreme Court Opinion – June 22, 2009
Merit and Amicus Briefs and Oral Argument Transcript – American Bar Association (scroll down for Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District case)
Supreme Court to Consider Landmark Voting Rights Act – The Huffington Post – April 20, 2009
High Court to Weigh Relevance of Voting Law in Obama Era – The Washington Post – April 1, 2009
A Texas Challenge to the Voting Rights Act – Los Angeles Times – January 17, 2009
