The Philadelphia Tribune cites the high cost of implementing strict photo voter ID and fighting litigation brought under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in “Voter ID foes stress legal cost in new tactic.” LDF’s own white paper examines the high cost (in time, money and burden) of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act litigation.
“Litigation over Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has also cost a number of municipal and county jurisdictions millions. Charleston, S.C., spent $2 million on lawyers in an unsuccessful fight against a Section 2 lawsuit. Yet, as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund points out, under Section 5 (the key provision in the Voting Rights Act gutted by the Supreme Court) it cost an average of $500 for states and localities to submit paperwork for preclearance of changes to voting practices.
Elsewhere, Voting Rights Act litigation fees are eye-opening, from the $1 million spent by Fayette County, Ga., defending Section 2 to the $3 million that North Carolina has spent defending Voter ID legislation that’s going into effect.”
