I think we are in agreement that it is mostly partisan politics. The demographic group(s) affected can swing the outcome in many of these states, so whether it's passing new voting laws or attempting to redistrict congressional zones, an attempt is made to neutralize a voting bloc.
From what I've read...the "justification" for the laws, at least in NC, were unfounded claims of voter fraud. False pretext.
It can't be ignored that some of these states have a legacy of disfranchisement of Blacks. Which is why the Voting Rights Act was needed in the first place. No sooner were alterations made to the VRA in 2013, did these new voting laws come into affect
The Blacks who vote, and I'm assuming it's true for Hispanic groups also, are socially conservative people. The case could be made that Republicans should be able to court and win over some of these social conservative people. Rather than making an attempt to do that, they are making attempts to neutralize Black voters, among others.
Falls right into the racist Republican meme that Dem.s trot out, whether it's case of partisan politics or blatant racism.
*Also thanks for the info about Black vote and FDR. It was still the issue of Civil Rights that caused the major switch. I consider FDR to be an anomaly for lot of reasons , and until you mentioned it, hadn't thought about the switch occurring under him. The Presidents after him, whether personally bigots or not, who passed laws increasing freedoms and social mobility of Blacks folks, turned the tide....with the switch becoming permanent under LBJ and the passa goe Civil Rights legislation.
