In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a key provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which required the federal government to preclear any voting changes in parts of the country that have a history of discrimination in voting. This provision of the VRA prevented many discriminatory voting laws from going into effect. 

Immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision, many states, which would have once had to preclear their voting changes, passed discriminatory voting restrictions. The only way to stop these restrictions today is to file legal challenges to these laws in court. But litigation is time-consuming and expensive, and it places a heavy burden on victims of discrimination and the few civil rights groups trained to take on these cases.The VRI is working to prepare the next generation of attorneys, experts and activists to preserve our democracy and protect the ability of all Americans to vote. By providing resources, litigating, educating, training and conducting new and original research, the VRI is growing the pool of voting rights attorneys and experts at this crucial time when they are needed the most.