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Shelby County and the Donor-Class Voter Suppression Strategy
Money
On June 25, 2013, John Roberts authored the 5-4 majority opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, gutting Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act — the formula that determined which jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination had to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws. Roberts declared the coverage formula unconstitutional because it was based on “40-year-old data” no longer responsive to current conditions. The same day, Texas announced implementation of its strictest voter ID law, which had been blocked under preclearance. Within a decade: 29 states passed 94 restrictive voting laws. The white-Black voter turnout gap in formerly covered jurisdictions grew twice as fast as the national average. The donor class benefits from every percentage point of reduced turnout — lower-income and minority voters disproportionately support the regulatory, labor, and tax policies that the donor class opposes.
The Ruling
Shelby County v. Holder (June 25, 2013). 5-4 decision. Majority: Roberts (author), Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito. The Court struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which established the coverage formula determining which states and local jurisdictions were subject to Section 5 preclearance — the requirement to obtain federal approval before making any changes to voting laws.
Roberts’s reasoning: Congress reauthorized the VRA in 2006 using a coverage formula based on data from the 1960s and 1970s. The Court held this formula was no longer constitutionally justified because conditions had changed. The ruling did not technically strike down Section 5 preclearance itself — but without a coverage formula, preclearance cannot be enforced. Congress has not passed a new formula.
The Senate had reauthorized the VRA 98-0 in 2006. The House vote was 390-33. Roberts overrode near-unanimous congressional judgment.
Immediate Consequences
Same-day actions:
Texas announced enforcement of SB 14, the strictest photo ID law in the country — previously blocked by a federal court under preclearance as intentionally discriminatory.
Within months:
North Carolina passed a sweeping omnibus election law (HB 589) that a federal appeals court later found targeted Black voters “with almost surgical precision” — eliminating same-day registration, reducing early voting days, and imposing strict photo ID requirements.
Mississippi, Alabama, and other formerly covered states began implementing voter ID laws and reducing polling locations without federal oversight.
The Decade After Shelby County
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| States passing restrictive voting laws | 29 states, 94 laws (2013–2023) |
| Polling place closures in formerly covered jurisdictions | 1,688 closures (2012–2018, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights) |
| White-Black voter turnout gap growth | Grew twice as fast in formerly covered jurisdictions vs. national average |
| 2022 turnout gap | 5 percentage points higher in formerly preclearance jurisdictions |
| Types of restrictions | Voter ID requirements, early voting cuts, registration restrictions, polling place closures, mail voting restrictions, voter roll purges |
Who Benefits: The Class Analysis
Money
Voter suppression is a donor-class strategy, not merely a partisan one. Lower-income voters, minority voters, and younger voters disproportionately support progressive taxation, labor protections, environmental regulation, and social safety net programs — all of which the donor class opposes. Every voter suppression measure that reduces turnout among these demographics improves the donor class’s electoral position. Shelby County didn’t create voter suppression — but it removed the federal enforcement mechanism that had blocked the most egregious examples for 48 years. The VRA was working. That’s why it was gutted.
The connection to campaign finance is direct: Citizens United (2010) enabled unlimited dark money in elections. Shelby County (2013) removed the federal check on voter suppression in the jurisdictions most likely to practice it. Together, the rulings create a system where the donor class can spend unlimited anonymous money while the voters most likely to oppose their agenda face increasing barriers to casting a ballot. Roberts authored one and joined the other. The architecture is coherent.
Roberts’s Coverage Formula Argument
Roberts declared the coverage formula unconstitutional because it relied on outdated data. The dissent (Ginsburg, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan) responded that the formula was justified by ongoing discrimination — Congress had compiled a 15,000-page legislative record documenting continued voting rights violations in covered jurisdictions before reauthorizing in 2006.
Contradiction
Roberts declared the VRA’s coverage formula invalid because it was based on “40-year-old data” — then authored Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024) citing Marbury v. Madison from 1803 as controlling authority. He overrode Congress’s near-unanimous judgment (98-0 Senate, 390-33 House) on the basis that he knew better than the legislative branch whether racial discrimination in voting persisted. The minimalist who defers to democratic institutions overruled the most lopsided bipartisan vote of the century.
Sources
- SCOTUSblog: Shelby County v. Holder (Tier 2)
- Brennan Center: Shelby County v. Holder Turns 10, and Voting Rights Continue to Suffer (Tier 2)
- NAACP LDF: Impact of Shelby County v. Holder — Voter Suppression and Discriminatory Redistricting (Tier 2)
- Constitution Center: Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (Tier 2)
- Supreme Court: Shelby County v. Holder (Official Opinion) (Tier 1)
- Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: The Great Poll Closure (Tier 2)