The Supreme Court Justices will revisit the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 on April 29, 2009.

Since its inception, the Voting Right Act of 1965 has been used to ensure that African-Americans and others of color maintain their right to the ballot booth. Even those of us with short-term memory can recall the panic that many felt when the misleading email circulated regarding the abolishment of African-American Voting Rights all over the country.  African-Americans, far and wide were ready to fall and line to guarantee their rights. 
Thankfully, the email was a bit distorted and misleading, but it did serve the purpose to raise the awareness and the importance of the U. S. House and Senate, reauthorizing the Voters Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Immediately after the reauthorization, amidst the clamour of critics and opposition groups alike, opponents moved swiftly to file lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of various sections of VRA, particularly sections 3 and 5.  On January 9, the Supreme Court, after a three-judge panel ruled to uphold the reauthorization in 2008, decided to hear arguments in the appeal of a lawsuit brought by an Austin, Texas, municipal utility district under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. 
Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District (MUD) No. 1 vs. Mukasey is the case and it is the first direct legal challenge to section 5 of the act.  It is under this section that the states in the south in particular are mandated to obtain federal approval before enforcing new voting procedures. So why a MUD district?
The MUD argued that part of the law is costly and unconstitutional, particularly for elections that are not broad in scope and discourages local governments from making changes that might benefit the community. The utility board sought to move its polling places from a garage to a school. Given the conservative nature of the Supreme Court and the nature of this case as it pertains to the protection of voter rights, now is the time to reclaim the passion, anger and cry for action that so many felt during the midst of the VRA email hysteria.  
Understanding that the court will hear the case on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, gives us sufficient time to become proactive on the issue.  What can you do? Impress upon your elected representatives how important this is to you.  Begin talking about it with friends and neighbors and if you have to…send emails, but get the information right this time. 
And you do have the right to send a letter to the Supreme Court Justices.  For obvious reasons the justices don’t have public email addresses, but you can write them at;
 Justice (or Chief Justice) (Justice’s Full Name)
Supreme Court of the United States
One First Street N.E.
Washington, DC 20543