A/HRC/49/46/Add.1 the 1960s prevented local and State governments from adopting laws and practices that denied citizens the equal right to vote on account of race. However, in 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, in its opinion in Shelby v. Holder, ruled that a section of the law (section 4.(b)) could no longer be constitutionally applied, rendering another section (section 5) essentially inoperable, with the result that States with a previous history of racial discrimination can now change their election practices without obtaining approval from the federal Government.10 26. It also became clear during the visit of the Special Rapporteur that the right and the opportunity to vote by universal and equal suffrage is increasingly and actively being undermined, and that such efforts are having a more pronounced impact on minorities, including African Americans and Hispanic, Latinx and indigenous peoples. This is not a new phenomenon historically, as recognized by other United Nations independent experts, including by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in 2017: “In the US there is overt disenfranchisement of vast numbers of felons, a rule which predominantly affects Black citizens since they are the ones whose conduct is often specifically targeted for criminalization. In addition, there is often a requirement that persons who have paid their debt to society still cannot regain their right to vote until they paid off all outstanding fines and fees. Then there is covert disenfranchisement, which includes the dramatic gerrymandering of electoral districts to privilege particular groups of voters, the imposition of artificial and unnecessary voter ID requirements, the blatant manipulation of polling station locations, the relocating of DMVs to make it more difficult for certain groups to obtain IDs, and the general ramping up of obstacles to voting especially by those without resources. The net result is that people living in poverty, minorities, and other disfavored groups are being systematically deprived of their voting rights”.11 27. Four years later, the pace of what the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights described as the undermining of democracy has expanded explosively. Millions of American citizens,12 disproportionally minorities, do not have the opportunity or are not allowed to vote in national elections, with each individual State entitled to adopt its own requirements as to how precisely votes can be cast. The consequences of the disenfranchisement of the voting rights of individuals with certain types of criminal records or associated debts, the imposition of onerous ID requirements, the manipulation of polling stations and restrictions on acceptable levels of assistance in voting by some States are clear, concrete and significant measures. Despite the historically high turnout during the 2020 general election, the participation of Black, Hispanic and Latinx and Asian minorities remained dramatically unequal: while 70.9 per cent of white voters cast ballots, only 58.4 per cent of those minorities voted. Efforts to restrict voting rights sharply escalated in 2021, with at least 19 States passing 33 laws making it harder for Americans to vote. 13 28. One highly notable development in this regard is an omnibus bill adopted in the State of Texas that has had a disproportionate impact on African American, Hispanic and Latinx, Asian and other minorities.14 The legislation makes it harder for those who face barriers to voting owing to their language, mainly minorities, to get help in casting their ballots, restricts the ability of election workers to stop harassment disproportionally targeting minorities by partisan poll watchers and bans 24-hour and drive-through voting. It is now an offence in 10 11 12 13 14 Supreme Court of the United States of America, Shelby v. Holder (570 U.S. 529 (2013)). Statement on visit to the United States by Professor Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Washington, D.C., 15 December 2017, para. 18 (see https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2017/12/statement-visit-usa-professor-philip-alston-unitednations-special-rapporteur). More than 2 per cent of United States citizens, some 5.1 million citizens, were disenfranchised in the October 2020 presidential election owing to felony convictions. Testimony of Wendy Weiser, Vice-President for Democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on protecting the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (6 October 2021) (see https://www.brennancenter.org/ourwork/research-reports/testimony-protecting-precious-almost-sacred-right-john-r-lewis-voting). State of Texas, United States of America, Bill S.B. No. 1 (available at https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/871/billtext/pdf/sb00001i.pdf). 7