I'm very concerned about it because the 2016 presidential election's going to be the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. I think, in many ways, we've come to take the VRA and what it did for granted. But the fact that states can pass new voting restrictions - those states with the worst histories of voting discrimination no longer have to clear their election changes with the federal government - means that, number one, those states can pass new restrictions very close to the election that are very hard to challenge.
And it also means, number two, that other states are going to feel emboldened to try to pass these efforts. So we're already facing a situation where, in key swing states like North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, new voting restrictions are in effect and could have a very big impact on the outcome of the 2016 election if they're not blocked in court.
Listen to the full Fresh Air (NPR) interview here.