To make matters worse, the closures came on the heels of Alabama requiring photo ID at the polls – a change the state made nearly the second the United States Supreme Court took it out from underneath the watchful stare of the United States Justice Department and the Voting Rights Act.
Because of course it was. And the USDOT investigated, stated the obvious.
“Based on its investigation, DOT has concluded that African Americans residing in the Black Belt region of Alabama disproportionately underserved by ALEA’s driver licensing services, causing a disparate and adverse impact on the basis of race,” the department said.