We have seen a dizzying flurry of attacks on civil liberties in the last decade. It was a matter of time until the Voting Rights Act came under fire. The Voting Rights Act gave citizens protection from states that wanted to redistrict or impose voter id programs that would disenfranchise minority voters. Three states with long histories of discrimination, Alabama, Florida and Texas, are now challenging those protections.

“A record five federal lawsuits filed this year challenge the constitutionality of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act. The 1965 statute prevents many state and local governments from enacting new voter ID requirements, redistricting plans and similar proposals on grounds that the changes would disenfranchise minorities.”

http://www.npr.org/2012/08/02/157768851/new-target-in-voter-id-battle-1965-voting-rights-act?sc=17&f=1001