Supreme Court Weighs Future Of Voting Rights Act
Race is front and center at the U.S. Supreme Court today and so is Shelby County, Alabama. The county is suing the U.S. Justice Department, challenging a requirement that it get prior approval from the federal government to change voting laws or maps. Civil rights pioneer and Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia says the case is one of the most important in a generation. He says the so-called “pre-clearance provision” prevents the disenfranchisement of minority voters. He cites the case of a black city councilman in Calera, AL, who risked losing his seat because of redistricting.
But Shelby County’s long-time attorney, Frank “Butch” Ellis, tells NPR’s Nina Totenberg that “the South has changed.” He notes that in a county that is 90 percent white, there have been multiple elections in which black candidates defeated white candidates.
“In any race, you show where you had a minority candidate happen to lose, I can show you two where they won with a 90 percent white population.”
Listen to Totenberg’s full report here and hear longtime Alabama resident and NPR reporter Debbie Elliot’s story on the issue here.
Regular WBHM contributor, Birmingham News political reporter Kyle Whitmire, also has a story on the legal case here, including a comment from former Rep. Artur Davis, who says the Voting Rights Act has had the unintended consequence of quarantining African-Americans into gerrymandered voting districts.
UPDATE (12:42 pm CT) – The New York Times is reporting that the conservative justices on the Supreme Court voiced skepticism of the Voting Rights Act during oral arguments this morning. Read more in the Times’ coverage.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
Alabama’s racial, ethnic health disparities are ‘more severe’ than other states, report says
Data from the Commonwealth Fund show that the quality of care people receive and their health outcomes worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
