CUSTOMER SHARE.
>> WHEN "ALL IN" STARTS RIGHT
NOW.
>>> GOOD EVENING FROM NEW YORK.
IM CHRIS HAYES.
WE HAVE A COUNTRY THAT DEVOLVES
A LOT OF POWER TO STATE AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
THERES ALWAYS A COMPLEX
INTERPLAY BETWEEN STATES,
MUNICIPALITIES, FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ALLOW
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO
DO IS ADMINISTER ELECTIONS.
IT CREATES A WEIRDLY COMPLICATED
SYSTEM COMPARED TO OTHER
COUNTRIES.
YOU CAN ARGUE STATES KNOW WHATS
BEST FOR THEIR VOTERS, RIGHT,
SINCE THEY ARE CLOSEST TO THEM.
THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT
THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THIS
COUNTRYS HISTORY THAT LOCAL
POWER WAS ABUSED PRIMARILY TO
STOP BLACK PEOPLE FROM VOTING,
TO ERECT A ONE PARTY MINORITY
AUTHORITARIAN STATE THROUGHOUT
MOST OF THE MESH SOUTHAMERICAN S
IN THE 1960s AFTER BLOOD, SWEAT,
TEARS, ORGANIZING IT CAME UP
WITH A GRAND BARGAIN.
YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS CALLED A
VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
IT DID NOT FULLY NATIONALIZE
ELECTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY.
IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE A
FLOOR FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THOSE ELECTIONS AS WELL AS
MECHANISMS OF OVERSIGHT TO MAKE
SURE THAT LOCAL ELECTION BOARDS
WERE NOT ABUSING THE HIGH LEVELS
OF DISCRETIONARY POWER THAT THEY
HAVE.
LEVELS OF POWER THEY HAD USED TO
EFFECTUATE AND FURTHER WHITE
SUPREMACY AND ANTIDEMOCRATIC
EXCLUSION.
IT WORKED.
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS.
IT IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
PIECES OF LEGISLATION IN
AMERICAN HISTORY.
LOOK AT THIS CHART OF BLACK
VOTER REGISTRATION IN SOUTHERN
STATES.
THE COLUMNS IN THE LEFT, THOSE
ARE BLACK VOTER REGISTRATION
LEVELS BEFORE THE VOTE WAS
PASSED.
MISSISSIPPI IS JUST UNDER 7%.
MUCH HIGHER COLUMNS IN THE RIGHT
UNDER GREEN, BLACK VOTER
REGISTRATION LEVELS JUST TWO
YEARS LATER, TWO YEARS AFTER THE
VOTING RIGHTS ACT WAS PASSED.
LOOK AT THAT.
AND THOSE NEW BLACK VOTERS
ELECTED BLACK POLITICIANS TO
ELECT THEM.
THIS SHOWS THE NUMBER OF BLACK
SOUTHERN LEGISLATORS.
YOU CAN SEE BEFORE THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT THERE WERE
PRACTICALLY NO BLACK SOUTHERN
LEGISLATORS STARTING IN 1965.
THAT NUMBER STEADILY CLIMBED.
THE LAW WAS LARGELY EMBRACED BY
MEMBERS OF BOTH PARTIES.
FOR INSTANCE, WHEN CONGRESS
VOTED TO RENEW IT IN 2006, THAT
VOTE PASSED FROM A VOTE OF 98-0
AND THE HOUSE 390-33.
THATS AS CLOSE TO CONSENSUS AS
YOU GET IN AMERICAN LIFE.
IN FACT, WHEN REPUBLICAN
PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH SIGNED
THE EXTENSION OF THE LAW, THIS
IS HOW HE DESCRIBED IT.
>> FOUR DECADES SINCE THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT WAS FIRST PASSED WE
MADE PROGRESS TOWARD EQUALITY AT
THE WORK FOR A MORE PERFECT
UNION IS NEVER ENDING.
WELL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE
LEGAL QUALITY TO HELP ENSURE
THAT EVERY PERSON ENJOYS THE
OPPORTUNITY THAT THIS GREAT LAND
OF LIBERTY OFFERS.
THIS BRINGS COMMUNITY ON THE
LIVES OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.
MY ADMINISTRATION WILL
VIGOROUSLY ENFORCE THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW AND WE
WILL DEFEND IT IN COURT.
>> AGAIN, THAT WAS JUST LIKE
PANIC FOR EVERYONE, OKAY, AT THE
TIME.
WE WILL DEFEND IT IN COURT.
WEVE GONE A LONG WAY TOWARDS
SOLVING THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM,
NOT ALL RACIAL EQUITY ISSUES,
BUT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM, THE
TARGETED DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF
BLACK VOTERS, THE USE OF LOCAL
DISCRETION AS A TOOL OF
OPPRESSION AND EXCLUSION AND
THEN JUST SEVEN YEARS LATER
AFTER THAT SPEECH CHIEF JUSTICE
JOHN ROBERTS CAME IN AND HE JUST
BROKE IT AGAIN.
IN 2013 A FRINGE RIGHT WING
MOVEMENT PAIRING WITH JOHN
ROBERTS AND OTHERS ON THE
SUPREME COURT DESTROYED THE
VOTING RIGHTS ACT IN A
MONUMENTAL CASE CLAIMING MORE OR
LESS RACISM WAS OVER AND DONE SO
WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING HERE.
ITS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THERE
WAS NO GRASSROOTS REBELLION
AGAINST THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
THERE WERE SOME LOCALITIES THAT
WANTED TO DO THEIR OWN THING IN
THE SOUTH, AND THERE WERE SOME
RIGHT WING JURY LISTS, BUT
GETTING RID OF THE VOTING RIGHTS
ACT, MAKE NO MISTAKE, WAS A RAW
ACT OF JUDICIAL ACTIVISM.
AT THE TIME FEDERAL JUDGE
RICHARD POSNER WROTE ABOUT THE
DECISION, SHELBY COUNTY VERSUS
HOLD NER STRUCK DOWN A KEY POINT
OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT TO
OBTAIN FEDERAL PERMISSION IN
ADVANCE TO CHANGE THEIR VOTING
PROCEDURES CALL PRECLEARANCE.
AS VIOLATING THE FUNDAMENTAL
PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL SOVEREIGNTY,
HE QUOTES THAT, OF THE STATES.
THIS IS A PRINCIPLE OF
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF WHICH I
HAD NEVER HEARD FOR THE
EXCELLENT REASON THAT THERE IS
NO SUCH PRINCIPLE.
THATS RIGHT, JOHN ROBERTS JUST
INVENTED IT.
HE INVENTED THE PRINCIPLE SO HE
COULD DO WHAT HE WANTED TO DO TO
BREAK AND DESTROY THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT, ONE OF THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL PIECES OF VOTING
RIGHTS HISTORY.
WHERE DO WE FIND OURSELVES EIGHT
YEARS LATER?
LOOK WHAT CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS
HAS DONE.
HE TOOK THIS COMPLETELY
EFFECTIVE WAY OF BALANCING ALL
OF THESE DIFFERENT INTERESTS AND
HE DESTROYED IT BECAUSE HE JUST
DIDNT LIKE IT AND NOTHING HAS
RISEN UP IN ITS PLACE.
IN FACT, WHAT WE HAVE NOW ARE A
REPUBLICAN PARTY FURTHER
RADICALIZED AND USING THEIR
POWER IN STATES AND LOCALITIES
TO DO WHAT THEY CAN TO GAIN AN
ADVANTAGE.
TAKE WHAT HAPPENED JUST TODAY IN
ARIZONA WHERE THEY ARE NOT JUST
DOING A PHONY FORENSIC AUDIT IN
AN ARENA NEXT TO A CIRCUS.
TODAY DOUG DOUSY SIGNED A LAW
THAT EXPERTS SAY WILL REMOVE
MORE THAN 100,000 VOTERS
INCLUDING 30,000 LATINO VOTERS
FROM THE STATES EARLY VOTING
LIST.
THAT MEANS THEY WILL NO LONGER
RECEIVE MAIL BALLOTS.
ARIZONA WAS ONE OF THE STATES
THAT WAS COVERED BY
PRECLEARANCE.
THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO GET
PRECLEARANCE TO DO THIS FROM THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
WHAT ARIZONA REPUBLICANS ARE
DOING WITH THEIR BOGUS ELECTION
AWEDUDIT IS A PR STUNT.
DEMOCRATS HAVE VOTING RIGHTS
BILLS IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE IN
AN ATTEMPT TO TRY TO RESET THE
BALANCE, RIGHT?
TO FILL THE VACUUM LEFT BY JOHN
ROBERTS AND THE CONSERVATIVES IN
THE COURT.
THE GRAND BARGAIN THAT WE HAD
THAT JOHN LEWIS SHED BLOOD FOR
ALONG WITH THOUSANDS AND
THOUSANDS OF OTHERS.
AT THE MARKUP OF THE SENATE BILL
TODAY DEMOCRATS TRIED TO SOUND A
WARNING ABOUT THESE ANTI
DEMOCRATIC BILLS REPUBLICANS ARE
PUSHING ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHILE
REPUBLICANS TROTTED OUT BAD
FAITH ARGUMENTS THAT DEMOCRATS
ARE TRYING TO GAME THE SYSTEM.
>> WE ARE WITNESSING AN ATTEMPT
AT THE GREATEST CONTRACTION OF
VOTING RIGHTS SINCE THE END OF
RECONSTRUCTION AND THE BEGINNING
OF JIM CROW.
REPUBLICANS NO LONGER WANT TO
LET THE VOTERS PICK THEIR
POLITICIANS, THEY WANT TO LET
POLITICIANS PICK THEIR VOTERS.
>> THE TRUTH IS QUITE SIMPLE,
OUR DEMOCRACYS NOT IN CRISIS.
AND WE ARENT GOING TO LET ONE
PARTY TAKE OVER OUR DEMOCRACY
UNDER THE FALSE PRETENSE OF
SAVING.
>> OUR DEMOCRACY IS NOT IN
CRISIS.
I MEAN, YES, WE DID HAVE A
VIOLENT INSURRECTION WHIPPED UP
BY THE LAST PRESIDENT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, NOTHING TO SEE
HERE.
AND SO NOW WERE BACK TO ALL OF THIS AGAIN.
THIS AGAIN.
THE PREVOTING RUTSZIGHTS ACT, TH
YOU, JOHN ROBERTS.
WERE GOING TO HAVE OVERSIGHT
AND A CHECK AGAINST ATTEMPTS TO
LOCK VOTERS OUT OF THE PROCESS.
NOW THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH
THIS IS TO CREATE SOME SORT OF
NEW FEDERAL STANDARDS BUT
DEMOCRATS NEED 60 VOTES TO PASS