The case decided by the Supreme Court Thursday,
Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, came down to a conservative interpretation — many said a conservative rewriting — of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory voting practices or procedures.
Alito, writing the court’s opinion, laid out “circumstances” that the court considered — including, yes, “the degree to which a voting rule departs from what was standard practice when [Section 2] was amended in 1982” and several other rules that, when applied, severely narrow the law. In effect, Justice Elanor Kagan wrote, the court chose “equality-lite.” Her whole opinion is worth a read (starting on pp. 45), as are analyses from Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Rick Hasen and Joshua A. Douglas.