MILWAUKEE – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by a 6-3 majority. For decades, this critical provision has outlawed discrimination by protecting Black and other minority communities’ right to vote and fair representation. Despite Black Americans making up a third of Louisiana’s population, the majority ruling not only made a second majority-Black congressional district unconstitutional in their state but has also weakened accountability to prohibit states from limiting the voting power of racial-minority communities across the nation. This ruling continues the nationwide redistricting arms race to secure partisan control of Congress. The members of the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus have released the following statement:
“Since the founding of our nation, Black Americans sacrificed their lives for our humanity and in turn secured equal rights and fair representation for all Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 enshrined these principles by creating a fair and just democracy that protects everyone’s constitutional right to vote, ability to choose their candidate of choice, and prohibits those in office from diluting the voting power of racial minorities.
Despite decades of precedent the United States Supreme Court sided with a group of non-Black voters in Louisiana’s claim that fair representation for Black Americans was unconstitutional and intentionally discriminatory. This decision recontaminates our very democracy with the legacy of Jim Crow, opening up the doors for extremists to maximize voter suppression and racial gerrymandering to remain in power.
While our compromised Supreme Court and Republicans continue to target the rights and well-being of Black Americans nationwide, these efforts will be used to disenfranchise all Americans of different races, ethnicities, and creeds. Black and brown communities’ rights to fair representation of their choice must be protected from partisan political agendas. History’s eyes are upon us, and it is the responsibility of elected leaders across the nation to right the ship by protecting and strengthening the Voting Rights Act at all levels of government in order for our democracy to survive.”
The Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus is committed to advancing the enactment of a Wisconsin John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect the rights of all voters as laid out in their policy agenda for the next legislative session.
