The End of Voting Rights

Opinion for The Latino Newsletter

The Supreme Court has dealt a mortal blow to voting rights. One of the most important Civil Rights laws giving Black and Brown Americans access to democracy has been extinguished.

In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, SCOTUS has destroyed the last major federal protection for our communities. In Louisiana v. Callais, Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion, which essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act (VRA), is a confusing effort to say that African American and Latino voters are “entitled to nothing less and nothing more than white voters.” Generations of sacrifices made to protect voting rights have been erased. 

The opinion is deceitful. It ignores persistent efforts to disenfranchise the votes of Black and Latino communities. 

The Court’s Republican appointments have undermined the VRA and are accelerating a shift toward a so-called “race-blind” legal framework. This viewpoint dismisses the persistent reality of racial discrimination in voting and representation. The decision has weakened safeguards in voting while enabling aggressive partisan gerrymandering that disproportionately harms communities of color.

Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court has become increasingly partisan due to intense political polarization, a focus on ideological judicial appointments, and strategic, long-term efforts to influence the bench, particularly by conservatives following the Roe v. Wade decision. That shift accelerated after 1991, as judicial appointments began prioritizing strict adherence to political ideology.

The transformation of the Court is largely a result of decades-long, intentional efforts to appoint conservative judges to reverse decisions from the Warren Court era. Organized conservative networks, such as the Federalist Society, have played a significant role in screening and recommending potential justices, helping ensure a unified ideological approach to legal issues. In 2016, the Republican refusal to hold hearings for Merrick Garland enabled the appointment of conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, cementing partisan control of the confirmation process. The result: a 6-3 conservative majority that has abandoned any pretense of impartiality.

In 1965, Congress passed the VRA, which allowed direct federal oversight and protections of election processes that ended years of discrimination against racial minority voters under Jim Crow. Section 2 of the Act applied a nationwide prohibition of the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color. The VRA had an immediate impact. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 southern states had fewer than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote. That foundation holds today: in the most recent presidential election, approximately 29 million Black voters cast ballots, while 16.6 million Latino voters did so.

The VRA protected voters of color from racial discrimination and constrained the dilution of representation through partisan gerrymandering. It secured the rights of Black and Latino communities to elect candidates of their choice. Yet citizens in many states continue to suffer severe limitations on their ability to vote. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ 2018 report, An Assessment of Minority Voting Rights Access in the United States, found that voting discrimination against underrepresented communities remains widespread.

The Court’s decision blesses racially discriminatory gerrymandering targeting our community. It dismantles the legal protections for Latino voters as we become a more important voice in the country’s politics. It openly invites states to weaken Latino voting strength in favor of the white community, undermining our democracy because Latinos will become further marginalized from the electoral process.

The reality is that the majority party can now legally rig the system and hold on to power. Party-controlled legislatures across the country have been given approval to redraw voting districts and gut representation at every level of government. Republican-led states are free to eliminate Latino electoral districts that tend to favor Democrats and affect the balance of power in Congress. 

In her dissent to the Alito opinion, Justice Elena Kagan said, “The Court’s decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity.” Her dissent makes clear: this ruling is dangerous and threatens racial equality in our elections. 

We must act immediately to protect our fundamental voting rights. Here are a few ways:

The Latino community will not stop fighting until every vote counts equally.

Mauro Morales is a retired attorney and civil rights leader who spent 25 years in federal service, most recently as Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He also served in the Obama Administration, including senior roles at the Office of Personnel Management, and previously worked in private practice and on Capitol Hill.

The Latino Newsletter is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and we are turning 2 years old in May! Help us with our birthday campaign by giving here.

Become a member of the National Audubon Society today, and we’ll send you our exclusive, award-winning magazine as a token of our appreciation. That means every three months you’ll receive stories about protecting birds and the places they need directly to your mailbox!

With over 120 years of conservation expertise, Audubon is responding to the greatest challenges facing birds and people today while anticipating the issues and opportunities of tomorrow. Where we work - and when you help - birds are better off.

Give a gift that renews each year to ensure our quarterly magazine continues arriving at your doorstep.

Donate Now

Men and Deportation: From the Washington Post, “The Trump administration’s vast deportation effort has led to the removal of an unusually high number of undocumented men who have lived and worked in the United States for years, according to a Washington Post analysis, upending the livelihoods and routines of scores of families.”

Julio Ricardo Varela edited and published this edition of The Latino Newsletter.

The Latino Newsletter welcomes opinion pieces in English and/or Spanish from community voices. Submission guidelines are here. The views expressed by outside opinion contributors do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this outlet or its employees.