On June 25th, 2013, the Supreme Court struct down the heart of the Voting Rights Act (Shelby County v. Holder), allowing states which previously were required to clear changes to voting practices with federal authorities to instead act without any oversight.
And in case there was ever any doubt, the effects of that ruling are now clear:
In 757 counties and county equivalents that formerly had to pre-clear voting practice changes with Washington, 1,173 polling places disappeared between 2014 and 2018
This data is from an Article in The Guardian which referenced a comprehensive study from the Leadership Conference Education Fund. This map from the study makes it clear where these closures are occurring:
The study identifies the worst offenders:
Our analysis uncovered statewide efforts to reduce polling places across Texas, Arizona,and Georgia — all states with rapidly growing and diversifying electorates. Each state stands out for the volume, scale, and breadth of its polling place closures. The 10 counties that closed the most polling places by number are all located in Texas ,Arizona, and Georgia.
Both the article and the study point out the hardships these closures represent. Voters are suddenly faced with a choice between trying to get to a voting location that is significantly further away, or working enough hours to put food on the table. This is clearly voter suppression, exactly what the Voting Rights Act had been designed to address.
There are so many issues, but a big one for post 2020, assuming we have the new majorities we want, will have to be to enact a new coverage formula for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, to essentially repair the damage that the Shelby decision has enacted.