Supreme Court Further Weakens Voting Rights Act in Brnovich v. DNC

In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, decided July 1, 2021, the Supreme Court (6-3) upheld two Arizona voting restrictions: a law discarding ballots cast in wrong precincts, and a ban on third-party ballot collection (so-called 'ballot harvesting'). Justice Alito's majority opinion introduced new, non-statutory factors courts should weigh under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, including the 'mere inconvenience' of voting requirements, making future challenges harder. Justice Kagan's dissent said the Court had 'damaged a statute designed to bring about the end of racially discriminatory voting.' The ruling was the most significant weakening of Section 2 since Shelby County v. Holder (2013).