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The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act

RuthRuth Shipmate
edited April 30 in Hell
The 1965 Voting Rights Act that prohibited racial discrimination in voting was eviscerated yesterday. Republicans in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee have already called for or started working on re-drawing Congressional districts in order to dilute the Black vote and assure that fewer Black people are elected.

So many horribly wrong things about this, but maybe the most sickly ironic ones are that the decision says we don't need the VRA because we've made so much progress on racism and that it cites the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which was passed in the wake of the Civil War to protect rights of people newly freed from slavery.

And I'm angry that this is already off the front page of major US news sites. We officially stopped being a full democracy yesterday. It deserves more coverage. The NY Times is already both-sidesing it, too -- "conservative justices see progress on racism" while "some Black Southerners say voting rights ruling missed the mark."

Comments

  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    I have not been able to bring myself to read the opinions yet. For a good chunk of my career, my practice involved the Voting Rights Act. While I’m not surprised at what the Court has done, disheartened is definitely not a strong enough word for what I feel.

  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I hope in 2028, the Dems have enough power to appointment additional SCOTUS justices to undue the damage of the current court.
  • RuthRuth Shipmate
    One of the points of this ruling is to make that less likely. Black people don't all vote Democrat, but they mostly do -- this ruling prohibits drawing a district to include a lot of Black voters so they can vote in a Black representative but does not prohibit drawing districts to distribute likely Democratic voters across so many districts that Republicans are favored in as many as possible. Gerrymanding for me, but not for thee.
  • The_RivThe_Riv Shipmate
    The United States of America has never been what it claimed it was. But, after the deconstruction/decimation by this President's 2nd administration, I'm not sure there's much hope on the Left that things can be reversed, or that the slide can be arrested. And, despite the fact that he's openly slumped and sleeping during broadcast Oval Office goings-on, I have every expectation that this SCOTUS will entertain the Constitutionality of a 3rd term for this POTUS after the 2026 midterms, which I have zero confidence in, now, as a means to check his power.
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited April 30
    It’s bad, bad, news. The arguments of the SCOTUS majority made me sick.

    The current (lack of) electoral boundary controls already allow too much gerrymandering. Now it will get worse.

    Democracy got a kick in the nuts. Made me sad and angry.
  • ArethosemyfeetArethosemyfeet Shipmate, Heaven Host
    I'm sorry you all are going through this. It's horrifying enough from the other side of the ocean watching the rule of law be twisted into a pretzel, one twist at a time. I can't imagine what it's like to have it happen around you.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Two justices likely to leave SCOTUS in the near future would be Thomas(77) and Alito(76). They are not signaling that they will retire, but I am hoping they can now will be able to live long enough for a Democratic president to be in place when they do leave the court. By leaving I mean dying a natural death. Of course, if the Democrats can gain control of the Senate in the midterm, Trump will be stymied in his desire to reshape the court.
  • GwaiGwai Epiphanies Host
    Nick Tamen wrote: »
    I have not been able to bring myself to read the opinions yet. For a good chunk of my career, my practice involved the Voting Rights Act. While I’m not surprised at what the Court has done, disheartened is definitely not a strong enough word for what I feel.

    Deep Sympathies.

    And empathy. It hasn't affected my career or life work as closely but that's about I feel. I read a significant amount of news (U.S.-centric and otherwise) every day and I haven't read anything about U.S. politics since the decision came out. Only other time I've been this depressed was when RBG died, and that was because I knew it would make all these other dominoes hit.
  • GwaiGwai Epiphanies Host
    and now they (Virginia supreme court) just nullified the will of VA voters. I've been saying since 11/2025 that we wouldn't have free and fair elections in 2028 but it hurts a lot to see that I was right. Fucking hell.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Gwai wrote: »
    and now they (Virginia supreme court) just nullified the will of VA voters. I've been saying since 11/2025 that we wouldn't have free and fair elections in 2028 but it hurts a lot to see that I was right. Fucking hell.
    Well, you do have to factor in that what the Virginia General Assembly did to get to the new maps was, from what could tell, of arguable constitutionality under the Virginia Constitution. There was always a chance this would happen, the current disdain for fair and free elections from the right being a factor or not.

    To be clear, I’m not saying the Virginia Supreme Court got it right. I’m just saying the procedure followed by the Virginia General Assembly wasn’t without vulnerabilities.


  • GwaiGwai Epiphanies Host
    Knowing you see it as questionably constitutional helps.
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