[EL] Literacy tests

Fri Aug 28 09:43:07 PDT 2020

A few notes following on Pam's message:

The original ban on literacy tests in §4(a) of the VRA
<https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=100&page=transcript>
applied specifically to the "covered" states identified in §4(b). When the
VRA was amended in 1975, the language was changed
<https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=89&page=400> to apply
nationwide (what is now codified in §10501), meaning the ban was not
affected when §4(b) was struck down in *Shelby County.*

Supposing the Court were to invalidate §4(a) for some reason, literacy
tests would still be subject to §2 which prohibits any "voting
qualification or prerequisite to voting" as well as any "standard,
practice, or procedure" that denies or abridges the right to vote on
account of race or color.

Flipping your student's query on its head, though, §2 only applies to state
and local governments and not the federal government.

Doug

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On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 10:19 AM Smith, Bradley <BSmith at law.capital.edu>
wrote:

> Also applies nationwide.
>
> Bradley A. Smith
> Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law
> Capital University Law School
> 303 East Broad Street
> Columbus, OH 43215
> Phone: (614) 236-6317
> Mobile:  (540) 287-8954
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>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on
> behalf of Ilya Shapiro <IShapiro at cato.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, August 28, 2020 12:06 PM
> *To:* Eric J Segall <esegall at gsu.edu>; Pamela S Karlan <
> pkarlan at stanford.edu>
> *Cc:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Literacy tests
>
>
> Doubtful. This is a permanent part of the statute rather than an
> extraordinary, “temporary” provision.
>
>
>
> Ilya Shapiro
>
> Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies
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>
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> *On
> Behalf Of *Eric J Segall
> *Sent:* Friday, August 28, 2020 12:01 PM
> *To:* Pamela S Karlan <pkarlan at stanford.edu>
> *Cc:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Literacy tests
>
>
>
> *CAUTION: External Email*
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>
>
> Irony of course is the Court could strike this down as beyond
> congressional power because the problem of literacy tests has been solved.
> Current conditions and all.....
>
>
>
> e
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>
> On Aug 28, 2020, at 11:58 AM, Pamela S Karlan <pkarlan at stanford.edu>
> wrote:
>
>  52 U.S.C. 10501 bans literacy tests in all elections:
>
>
> 10501. Application of prohibition to other States; "test or device" defined
>
> (a) No citizen shall be denied, because of his failure to comply with any
> test or device, the right to vote in any Federal, State, or local election
> conducted in any State or political subdivision of a State.
>
> (b) As used in this section, the term "test or device" means any
> requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting or registration for
> voting (1) demonstrate the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret
> any matter, (2) demonstrate any educational achievement or his knowledge of
> any particular subject, (3) possess good moral character, or (4) prove his
> qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or members of any other
> class.
>
>
>
> Pamela S. Karlan
>
> Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law
>
> Co-Director, Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic
>
> Stanford Law School
>
> 559  Nathan Abbott Way
>
> Stanford, CA 94305
>
> karlan at stanford.edu
>
> 650.725.4851
>
>
>
> On Aug 28, 2020, at 8:53 AM, Kogan, Vladimir <kogan.18 at osu.edu> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Hi everyone, a student asked me this question and I was embarrassed to not
> know the answer: Does the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition on literacy tests
> apply only to federal elections? In other words, could a state today
> implement a literacy tests requirement for state and local elections?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>
>
> Vlad Kogan
>
>
>
> <image001.png>
>
>
> *Vladimir Kogan*, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate
> Studies
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