Supreme Court sides with Arizona in voting rights case

The Trump-packing of the United States Supreme Court is paying dividends for the would-be oligarchs in the Republican Party, evidenced by the high court’s ruling in a case involving a restrictive Arizona voting law handed down on Thursday.

The sis conservative justices on the court ruled in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee that the relevant part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act can be used to strike down voting restrictions only when they impose substantial and disproportionate burdens on minority voters, effectively gutting the landmark legislation.

“It is ironic and sad that on the very day that Virginia’s historic Voting Rights Act goes into effect, the Supreme Court upholds two restrictive and discriminatory voting laws in Arizona,” Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement. “For more than six decades, the Supreme Court could be counted on as a reliable partner in protecting Americans’ fundamental voting rights, but not anymore. It is so important that the Commonwealth now has its own Voting Rights Act in place to protect Virginians’ fundamental right to vote and prevent any kind of discriminatory conduct.”

The ruling signals that the Trump Court will likely side with Republican state legislatures across the country that have passed laws making it harder for minority voters to get access to the ballot box.

“The Court’s majority even acknowledged that the impact of Arizona’s law on minority voters is twice what it is on white voters. But instead of protecting voters who have historically faced greater disenfranchisement, the Court focused on the voting experience of the majority of voters, which is not the intent of the Voting Rights Act,” League of Women Voters of the United States CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said.

“In light of today’s ruling, it is more important than ever that Congress act quickly to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act. Establishing national standards for our elections will repair the extreme damage to the freedom to vote and build a stronger and more inclusive democracy,” Solomón said.

Story by Chris Graham