Hundreds of thousands of voters could be disenfranchised this November because of blatant voter suppression legislation. Studies indicate that 18 percent of elderly voters, 25 percent of black voters, and 20 percent of Asian voters all lack ID and risk disenfranchisement by these new laws.

Yet, the Supreme Court is likely to consider efforts to scale back the landmark Voting Rights Act this term. The Act was first passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times since then, most recently 2006 when Congress voted to extend it for another 25 years.

Petitions from North Carolina and Alabama are challenging a key provision in the law requiring states with a history of discrimination at the polls to get federal permission before making any changes to election procedures, from redrawing congressional district boundaries to changing the locations of polling places.

As recently as 2009, the Court upheld the requirement, though Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion left open the possibility that the law could be struck down later, “In part due to the success of that legislation, we are now a very different nation.” Really?

A Brennan Center for Justice analysis of the ten states that have implemented voter ID laws found that the new requirements place substantial burdens on low incomer and minority voters who have limited access to offices that issue the proper ID. The Center found that fees required for the necessary documentation, such as birth certificates or passports, and difficulties scheduling appointments due to irregular hours, constitute a “poll tax.” Reuters reported that there have been more challenges to the Voting Rights Act in the past two years than in the previous forty-five.

Perhaps if Justice Roberts removed his blinders, he’d see a nation that is looking more like 1965 every day.