Starting in 1965 the Voting Rights Act required districts with a history of discrimination to seek federal approval for proposed election laws. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down this requirement, freeing local districts from seeking federal approval. In a visually stunning presentation, College of the Redwoods Professor Ryan Emenaker will explore the impacts of this decision on voter suppression and local politics.
Professor Emenaker regularly comments in the press on state and local politics, he has made guest appearances on NBC affiliates as a political analyst, and he has been a political commentator on local radio. Last summer he attended numerous sessions of the Supreme Court while serving as the Supreme Court analyst for several NBC affiliates.
The lecture series’ namesake, Victor Schaub, was an Arcata civil attorney and professional mediator who was elected to the City Council in 1988 and served two terms, until 1996. He served as mayor from 1990-95. Schaub died in 2004 at the age of 60, and the Victor Schaub Memorial Lecture series was established in his honor.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Tuesday, February 11 from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Native Forum, BSS 162.