University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository
Abstract
In 2014, voters in ten of the fifteen states previously covered by the Voting Rights Act ( VRA ) preclearance formula-including six of the nine states covered in their entirety-will go to the polls to elect or retain state supreme court justices. Yet despite the endemic underrepresentation of minorities on state benches and the judiciary\u27s traditional role in fighting discrimination, scholars have seemingly paid little attention to how Shelby County v. Holder\u27s suspension of the coverage formula in section 4(b) has left racial minorities vulnerable to retrogressive changes to judicial-election laws. The first election year following Shelby County thus provides a compelling opportunity to assess the VRA\u27s ongoing role in the fight to diversify state benches