Another Civil Rights Struggle in the Carolinas

In particular, ending the first week of early voting eliminated a Sunday on which African-American voters tended to go from church to polling places. In 2012, 43 percent of voters who cast ballots that day were African-American. Coincidence? I think not.

The alleged justifications for these changes, preventing fraud and saving money, are laughably bogus. As the Justice Department notes, eliminating early voting days while keeping polls open for the same number of hours will be more expensive.

So will the court -- ultimately, in all likelihood, will the Supreme Court -- find that these practices violate Section 2? The law does not only prohibit voting practices and procedures that are intentionally discriminatory, although the Justice Department argues that it can show such intent. Rather, as amended in 1982, the law also prohibits practices that, "based on the totality of circumstances," result in "denial or abridgement" of minorities' right to vote.

North Carolina argues that the new law did no such thing. It notes that in the 2014 election, after the law took effect, African-American turnout actually increased, and the number of African-American state legislators is at an all-time high. But accepting this argument would punish civil rights groups for their post-legislation organizing efforts.

Still, this case and similar ones present a difficult exercise in line-drawing. Do states without any early voting or same-day registration violate the Voting Rights Act? How heavily does a state's history weigh in the calculus?

Exorcising the hurtful symbols of past oppression is an important and powerful enterprise. So is dealing with modern impediments that fuse the toxic socioeconomic legacy of that oppression with seemingly innocuous practices, perpetuating political disenfranchisement.

Unfettered access to the levers of democracy is of fundamental importance in eradicating the blight of racism. What happens in North Carolina will inform us whether the remaining legislative tools are sufficient for that essential task.

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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.