Clarence Thomas: The lone Supreme Court Justice to Vote Against the 1965 Voting Act

Congress approved the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to prevent local officials from disenfranchising minority voters through a variety of tactics. In the past, local officials have located polling places in spots inconvenient to minority groups, or drawn boundaries of voting districts to dilute their strength.

Section 5 requires the Justice Department to "preclear" changes in voting rules in certain states and municipalities, mostly in the Deep South.

The court rightly decided that Congress deserved latitude when lawmakers decided in 2006 to extend Section 5 for 25 years. Congress amassed ample evidence of the need for prolonged federal oversight. Philadelphia Inquirer

Just to state the facts of the vote, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. also noted that the nation today is significantly different from the one that adopted the act 40 years ago and that federal intervention in state election procedures may no longer be justified in an era when thousands of African-Americans hold office across the country and the nation recently elected its first black president.

Yes, times have changed since the voting act was passed; but the more things change, the more they stay the same. As Latinos become the majority minority in this country, although Latino is not a race, statistics point to them eventually becoming the majority. For a change so drastic in this country to take place, the government should continue to play a role in our democracy to guarantee the right for all to vote.

The case may be different for African-Americans since the 1960's and because of the African-American civil rights struggles of the past, other ethnic minority groups do not have to fight the same fight- but old habits die hard for some and there's no need to undue the law if it protects the rights and does not violate the rights of others.

So why did Clarence Thomas vote against the act? I don't know. Maybe he is only taking into consideration the struggle of African-Americans and thinks that the struggle is over because we have made great strides. But as a Supreme Court Justice, he should consider all of the country and acknowledge the fact that this country still has a way to go with its poor and disenfranchised as well as minorities.