In preparing the definitive case for reimposing preclearance on Alabama election laws, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners unwittingly made it clear that there is no serious case to be made for it.

In 1965, Congress responded to the persistent and widespread denial of voting rights by enacting the Voting Rights Act. To stop states from enacting discriminatory voting laws quicker than courts could enjoin them, Congress required that Alabama and five other states that had used discriminatory voting tests in the 1964 presidential election seek permission — or preclearance — from federal authorities before implementing new voting procedures.