Five years ago, five justices on the Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that for decades protected voters in states with pernicious histories of voting discrimination. Don't forget what happened in the immediate aftermath of this appalling decision:
Within 24 hours of the decision, the conservative justices prompted a deluge of voter suppression legislation. Texas and Alabama announced plans to plow ahead with restrictive and previously blocked voter-ID laws. Weeks later, N.C. passed its monster voter suppression law.
Five years later, the landscape is worse: The Republican voter suppression campaign now has the enthusiastic endorsement of the nation’s president – a president who is stacking the federal courts with the very people who cheered the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act.
Thomas Farr, for example, was a leading architect of NC's discriminatory voter law, defended the state’s racial gerrymanders of legislative districts, and was involved with a notorious voting scheme against African-American communities while working for the late Sen. Jesse Helms.
Some of Trump’s judicial nominees did more than defend racist voter suppression laws following Shelby County v. Holder. Nominees like Andrew Oldham, Britt Grant, and Andrew Brasher filed briefs that actively argued for the evisceration of the Voting Rights Act from the start.
But the threat to voting rights – and to a fair and just democracy – is bigger than the federal courts. Trump’s Cabinet is working overtime to fuel his massive voter suppression machine. In the Husted case, for example, AG Jeff Sessions reversed the federal government’s position.
And @SecretaryRoss announced he'll add a citizenship question to the #2020Census. This untested question will lower response rates & lead to an inaccurate count. Because the census determines apportionment of political power, vulnerable communities will be silenced & left behind.
The admin's actions add up to a frightening conclusion: Trump and his enablers are warping the rule of law to serve their own purposes. They are corroding the integrity of our institutions to further their own partisan ends. And they are diminishing the power of we the people.
Make no mistake: This is no longer about party or politics. The Trump administration seeks to fundamentally change the rules of the game – and dismantle our democracy in the process.
Hope is not lost. The civil rights community helped force the dissolution of Trump’s sham voter suppression commission led by Pence & Kris Kobach. A district court dealt another blow to Kobach last week when it struck down KS’s documentary proof-of-citizenship law for voter reg.
And because of opposition by civil rights groups, four of Trump’s most ideologically extreme judicial nominees have been forced to withdraw. Every one of us can make a difference. And every one of us has a powerful voice – and vote – in building an America as good as its ideals.
Senators must demand the impartiality of the federal courts. Members of Congress must push for the full restoration of the VRA. Civil rights lawyers must keep up the pressure in the courtrooms. Organizers must debunk false narratives about voter fraud and register people to vote.
And all of us must speak out for our communities – and for our country. Our democracy is worn, but not beyond repair. Not if people of conscience defend our nation’s highest values and act today. /end
