NCLCV Condemns the Supreme Court’s Decision To Gut the Voting Rights Act
The NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) has joined other fair elections advocates nationwide in condemning a major US Supreme Court decision gutting the most impactful remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act.
The 6-3 ruling by the Court’s hard-right majority strikes down a Congressional district map in Louisiana which had been drawn to create two majority-Black districts. In its ruling, the Court majority overturned decades-long precedents allowing (and in some cases requiring) states to draw Congressional district maps which include good opportunities for electing minority representatives.
Legal experts were united in interpreting this new decision as rendering the Voting Rights Act useless for controlling extreme gerrymandering drawn to favor one party over another, regardless of the impacts on minority representation. The decision is likely to set off a scramble by Republicans in southern states to redraw district lines to eliminate districts which favor the election of minority (mostly Democratic) candidates.
“The Voting Rights Act as a means to protect minority voters from vote dilution is essentially dead,” said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University who has served as an outside legal expert in multiple Voting Rights Act cases.
NCLCV Speaks Out
“We are deeply disappointed by the decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a ruling that strikes at the very heart of our democracy,” said NCLCV Executive Director Carrie Clark. “By effectively gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, this verdict represents a devastating rollback of fundamental freedoms that generations of Americans have fought to secure and protect. The dangers of this ruling extend far beyond a single case. It sets a precedent that could embolden efforts to dilute voting power, redraw maps in ways that disenfranchise voters, and weaken protections that ensure equal access to the ballot.”
She continues: “We cannot separate environmental justice from racial justice, and we cannot have either without fair and transparent representation. Communities most impacted by environmental harm are often the same communities whose political voices are now at greater risk. This is why we remain steadfast in our commitment to fight not only for clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment, but also for a just and inclusive democracy where every voice is heard.”
Biggest Rollback of American Freedoms
The national League of Conservation voters wrote: “[Last week’s] decision by the MAGA Supreme Court justices represents one of the biggest rollbacks of freedoms for the American people in living memory,” said the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Senior Director of Judiciary and Democracy, Doug Lindner. “For generations after the Civil War, the promise of civil rights and voting rights for Black Americans was broken by racist laws and racist officials, as well as widespread violence and intimidation.”
In his statement, Lindner points out in “1964, only 6.7% of eligible Black voters in Mississippi were registered to vote. By 1967, two years after the landmark Voting Rights Act (VRA), 59.8% were registered. And now that law is effectively gone.” He continues, “Demolishing the historic Voting Rights Act threatens the right to vote for tens of millions of Black voters and other voters of color, whose primary protection from disenfranchisement is lost. It imperils fair district maps for voters nationwide, as the MAGA justices have now denied protection against both racial and partisan gerrymandering. It will exacerbate environmental injustice and endanger the health of disenfranchised communities across the country.”
While far-right Supreme Court decisions have targeted the Voting Rights Act for over a decade, Lindner says this “decision represents a new low for the Court as well as the nation.”
How Can We Fight This?
To elect state-level candidates to executive, legislative, and judicial offices who will fight for both environmental justice and voting rights for all.
We have the opportunity to elect an environmental and democracy champion to the NC Supreme Court in this year’s election. In fact, she is speaking at this year’s Green Tie Awards. Read more and register to hear Justice Anita Earls speak at this year’s Green Tie. And if you’d like to be part of this work, explore some of the actions you can take today!
