“One person, one vote” is a bedrock of our democracy. From the beginning, this nation explicitly rejected the plutocracy the Founding Fathers knew so well. That each citizen’s vote counts the same as any other citizen’s—regardless of wealth or social status—remains an ideal that continues to inspire around the world, even when we fall short.

The new issue of the Rutgers Law Review takes a close at the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a year when the Supreme Court is expected to revisit the landmark Civil Rights legislation.  Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert wrote an article for the issue, “The Future of the Voting Rights Act” which examines the background of the Act, its multiple renewals and the court challenges which followed each one.  The piece goes on to take a close look at the Act’s Section 5 bailout provisions, their effectiveness and affordability, the Court’s significant underestimate of the jurisdictions which have utilized them, and how they provide the flexibility to continually tweak and improve this still-vital Congressional remedy to discrimination.

On October 13, Politico’s Arena featured a short video produced by Legal Center Policy Director Meredith McGehee on the ease with which foreign interests could be pouring money into our elections.  The video shows why Justice Alito's "not true" rejoinder about foreign money in U.S. elections during the State of the Union falls short as does the supposed "full disclosure" imagined by Justice Kennedy in his Citizens United opinion.

You can’t even watch the playoffs these days without being bombarded by political attack ads by groups who won’t say where they get their money.  Some political operatives now tell us if party committees could just take unlimited donations, the ads by these outside groups will go away.   If you’re buying that, I bet they’ve got a bridge to sell you as well.