Memo to Justices Scalia and Kennedy:  Take note that the State of Alabama, for reasons yet to be determined, feels the need to submit this legislation to the Justice Department for Section 5 preclearance under the Voting Rights Act:  “Representatives from the Alabama Education Association will be banned from visiting two-year college campuses to enroll new members, under a rule imposed last week by the state’s Department of Postsecondary Education.  The ruling comes in the wake of the passage of a law known as Senate Bill 2, or SB2, which prohibited teachers from having their union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. . . .Supporters of the bill — mostly members the newly-elected GOP majority — said the measure was needed because taxpayers shouldn’t’t foot the bill for contributions that go to political candidates.”

In other words, rules implementing prohibitions on public sector unions and limiting campus access to violate this law are subject to review under the Voting Rights Act.  This is not what the Voting Rights Act is for and the power to do this doesn’t exist.

Is this because DOJ has said they believe the rules must be submitted for approval under the Voting Rights Act?  If so, the Alabama Secretary of State or Attorney General (where staffers frequent this blog) should contact the address at the side of the page.  Or, folks will be contacting you shortly.

More at PJ Tatler.

The Voting Rights Act was intended to leverage federal power to prevent states from backsliding towards discrimination.  It was not intended to create federal oversight over a wide swath of state political activities.  If the DOJ attempts to use the Voting Rights Act to control rules against union recruitment on campuses, then it is applying the Voting Rights Act in an unconstitutional fashion and it should be declared so by a court.  Better yet, Alabama shouldn’t be playing along with the charade and submitting these matters to the Justice Department in the first place.