Ellington

"I think it is attributable ... to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement. It's been written about. Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes."

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia during arguments in case asking the court to overturn Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Why it stinks: Section 5 gives the U.S. government the authority to pre-approve changes to voting policy in several states and counties with histories of voter suppression. The case before the court argues that the law is unfair, outdated and no longer necessary.

Congressional dissent over Section has disappeared. "Scalia's comments suggested that this occurred, not because of a growing national consensus that racial disenfranchisement is unacceptable, but because lawmakers are too afraid to be tarred as racists," Think Progress wrote.

Political science professors provided research into the subject of "electoral behavior, public opinion, and voting rights" in the U.S. to the justices. "[S]tates that are fully covered by Section 5 are more than twice as likely as non-covered states to adopt policies that make voting more difficult for citizens."