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88 Tex. L. Rev. See Also 1 (2009-2011)

handle is hein.journals/seealtex88 and id is 1 raw text is: Texas Law Review See Also Essay The Voting Rights Act Through the Justices' Eyes: NAMUDNO and Beyond Joshua A. Douglas* The most surprising action from the Supreme Court's latest term may be what it did not do: strike down Section 5 of the Voting Rights A ct (VRA) as unconstitutional.' After the oral argument in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder (NAMUDNO),2 Most Court observers expected the Court to issue a strongly divided opinion invalidating Congress's reauthorization of the provision that requires certain covered jurisdictions to seek preapproval, or preclearance, before enacting any change that affects voting.3 Instead, the Court issued an 8-1 opinion that avoided the constitutional question and decided the case on a narrower statutory ground.4 This Essay discusses what the Court said-and did not say-in NAMUDNO and explores the emerging trends in current election law jurisprudence. I proceed in three Parts. Part I discusses the Court's statutory interpretation and constitutional avoidance approach in NAMUDNO. In Part II, I explain how each current Justice generally views the VRA by coding each Justice's votes in prior VRA cases as either expansive or restrictive * Law Clerk to the Honorable Edward C. Prado. United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Special thanks to Daniel P. Tokaji, Michael J. Pitts. and Benjamin Wallfisch for their invaluable assistance in reviewing drafts ofthisEssay. 1. See Nw. Austin Mun. Util. Dist. No. One v. Holder (NAMUDNO). 129 S. Ct. 2504. 2514-17 (2009) (addressing Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act). 2. 129 S. Ct. 2504 (2009). 3. 42 U.S.C. § 1973c(a) (2006);see, e.g.. NAMUDNO: The Answer to My Question Appears to Be Yes, Posting of Rick Hasen to Election Law Blog, http://electionlawblog.org/archives/013533.html (Apr. 30. 2009. 08:00 EST) (claiming that the Court was likely to invalidate Section 5 of the VRA. 4. NAMUDNO 129 S. Ct. at 2516-17. 5. For a more comprehensive history of the Voting Rights Act, see generally J. Morgan Kousser, The Strange, Ironic Career of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, 19652007 86 TEXAS L. REv. 667 (2008).

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