In its 2015 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court took a sledge hammer to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now that certain states are no longer required to obtain federal preclearance before implementing changes to their voting rights and practices, these same states (mainly southern) have cut early voting, purged voter rolls, reduced voting locations, and imposed strict voter ID laws. In other words, this election strategy is meant to disenfranchise voters, mainly minority voters. Using a traditional courthouse step quilt block pattern, we wanted to visualize how far to the right the court has moved. Nothing is more egregious than denying citizens the right to vote.
