A recent episode of the Law Library’s podcast, Law in Action, featured a discussion between UW Professors Torey Dolan and Steve Wright, and Associate Director Kris Turner  on how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been challenged and debated at the Supreme Court in recent years, most recently in Louisiana v. Callais. This timely discussion was both informative and interesting, but personally only whet my appetite for information on the Voting Rights Act, both historical background and recent challenges. Researching the history of the Voting Rights Act provides valuable context for its importance then and today.  Luckily, there are several resources available for anyone looking for an understanding of election law generally, or the Voting Rights Act specifically.

A great place to begin research on legislation is through government documents.  The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared, nonpartisan staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities. Their reports are thorough and provide valuable information on legislation.  They are also timesavers for any researcher, providing links to primary law and historical context. They published a report in 2023 titled The Voting Rights Act: Historical Development and Policy Background, which “provides an overview of the complex political history that led to the VRA, and of more than 60 years of legislative history surrounding the statute's enactment, major amendments, and related developments.”

Speaking of government documents, the Supreme Court website provides audio of oral arguments, transcripts, and case documents, Louisiana v. Callais can be found here.

The National Archives also includes the Act and some historical context as part of their Milestone Documents collection.

The National Conference of State Legislatures is an excellent resource for bipartisan policy research, providing reports and data on many current topics. Though state centered, they also provide resources on topics where federal and state law intersect, such as Elections & Campaigns.

Several law school centers have articles and databases dedicated to the Voting Rights Act, such as The Voting Rights Act, Explained, from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, and Voting Acts Research from the University of Chicago’s Data and Democracy Lab. And of course, the many resources available at UW Law’s own State Democracy Research Initiative.

Perhaps you’re like me and receive much of your information through podcasts during long commutes. The Campaign Legal Center produces the multi-season, award winning podcast Democracy Decoded.  Each season centers on a different aspect of our democracy and how it is threatened (think of it as a The Wire-type examination of how each aspect interacts to create our current situation). Season One begins with money in politics and Season Five concludes with a discussion of the Voting Rights Act.

5-4 Pod discusses Louisiana v. Callais in their 2025-2026 Supreme Court Term Preview, and also delves deeper into the Voting Rights Act in a two-part episode available on their Patreon.

 Here are some additional political podcasts with episodes on the Voting Rights Act:   Will the Voting Rights Act Survive SCOTUS? from Strict Scrutiny (hosted by law professors Leah Litman, Melissa Murray, and Kate Shaw) (air date 10/20/2025); The Voting Rights Act at 60 from the American Constitution Society (air date 08/05/2025);  The Fight for Voting Rights Across the Country, from Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams (air date 10/03/2024); and this roundup of Podcasts on Voting from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

If you’re on campus, or a member of the UW Law community, there are additional resources available. One example is EBSCO’s Research Starter Voting Rights Act of 1965, a summary which links to almost 15,000 resources in their database on the subject.

ProQuest Legislative Insight has a topic page for Voting Rights, with a timeline of legislative histories for landmark legislation, while ProQuest Supreme Court Insight (featured at last week’s Lightning Session in the Atrium) has their own topic page on Voting Rights with a timeline of important cases.

For assistance using any of these resources, stop by the Reference Desk and ask one of our friendly librarians!

Submitted by Manriquez,Elizabeth on February 18, 2026

This article appears in the categories: Law Library