ChAPTER EighT • CAmPAigns AnD ElECTions 191
The Voting Rights Act. As we discussed in Chapter 5, the Voting Rights Act was
enacted in 1965 to ensure that African Americans had equal access to the polls. Section
5 of the act requires that new voting practices or procedures in jurisdictions with a history
of discrimination in voting have to be approved by the national government before being
implemented.
Section 5 permits jurisdictions to “bail out” of coverage if they can demonstrate a
clean record on discrimination during the previous ten years. By 2009, however, seven-
teen Virginia counties were the only jurisdictions in the country to successfully bail out.
In June 2009, the Supreme Court permitted a Texas utility district to file for a bailout and
strongly indicated that relief from the requirements of the act should be granted more
freely.^14
In June 2013, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court effectively invalidated
the requirement that changes to voting procedures in covered states and districts receive
preclearance.^15 The Court did not throw out Section 5. Rather, it overturned Section 4,
which determined which states and localities should be covered by Section 5. The Court
contended that Section 4, which dated back to the 1960s, was obsolete. In principle,
Congress could adopt a new set of Section 4 formulas based on more current conditions.
The chances of such legislation making its way through a polarized Congress, however,
seemed slight.
African American and liberal leaders accused the Court of engaging in one of the
most sweeping examples of conservative judicial activism ever. The Voting Rights Act had
been reaffirmed by Congress in 2006, with the House supporting it by 390 to 33 and the
Senae by 98 to 0.how Do VoTERs DECiDE?
A variety of factors appear to influence political preferences. Party identification is among
the most important. Other factors include the perception of the candidates and issue pref-
erences. Various demographic factors influence political preferences as well.Party identification
With the possible exception of race, party identification is the most important determinant
of voting behavior in national elections. Party affiliation is influenced by family and peer
groups, by generational effects, by the media, and by the voter’s assessment of candidates
and issues.
As we have observed on more than one occasion, the number of independent voters
has grown over the years. While party identification may have little effect on the voting
behavior of true independents, it remains a crucial determinant for the majority of the vot-
ers, who have established party preferences.other Political Factors
Factors such as perception of the candidates and issue preferences also affect how people
vote. While most people do not change their party identification from year to year, can-
didates and issues can change greatly, and voting behavior can therefore change as well.- Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder, 557 U.S. 193 (2009).
- U.S. (2013).
LO5: Provide some of the
reasons why people vote in
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