Free from federal oversight, 5 percent of Mississippi polling locations have closed since 2013

Holmes County Circuit Clerk Earline Wright-Hart still asks the U.S. Department of Justice for permission before making changes to polling places.

“I always like to follow protocol,” Wright-Hart, who is black, said, adding that many of the county’s seasoned clerks have retired. “I still do it out of respect for the person I used to do it with.”

This protocol was first imposed under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, passed to protect black voters from efforts to disenfranchise them. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down sections of the law that required officials in states with histories of electoral discrimination — including Mississippi — to obtain federal permission, or preclearance, before making changes to voting laws or practices, such as polling locations.

Poll taxes, literacy tests and voter intimidation were some of the ways Mississippi historically prevented African Americans from voting. The 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted parts of the 1965 law and gave states greater power over running elections.

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