Section 2 is Dead: Long Live Section 2

Voting rights law is in the midst of an existential crisis. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is probably the most celebrated civil rights statute ever enacted by Congress. By most accounts, the central concern that gave rise to the VRA—racial animus against black voters and black candidates by white state and private actors—has, blessedly, retreated into the annals of history since the Act’s passage. Bull Connor is dead; black voters can register and vote on par with white voters; black candidates can run for office, and white voters will vote for them; the voting rights framework now incorporates Latinos and other Americans of color, allowing more individuals to take advantage of the pro-