Thread by @AriBerman

7 years ago today Supreme Court conservative majority led by John Roberts gutted Voting Rights Act, unleashing wave of new voter suppression in states like GA, TX & NC

Bill passed by House to restore VRA has been sitting on Mitch McConnell’s desk for over 200 days

States that previously had to approve voting changes under Voting Rights Act have closed 1,688 polling places since SCOTUS gutted law:

-750 in Texas

-320 in Arizona

-214 in Georgia

-126 in Louisiana

-96 in Mississippi

-72 in Alabama

motherjones.com/politics/2019/…

From 2016 to 2018, 17 million Americans - 8 % of electorate - were removed from voter rolls found @BrennanCenter

Areas with long history of discrimination previously subject to Voting Rights Act purged voters at rate 40% higher than rest of country motherjones.com/politics/2020/…

John Roberts has been trying to weaken Voting Rights Act since he was young lawyer in Reagan Justice Department

“Violations of [VRA] should not be made too easy to prove" he wrote in 1981

32 years later he wrote majority opinion gutting VRA

politico.com/magazine/story…

To learn much more about historic significance of Voting Rights Act & 50-year campaign to undermine it, read Give Us the Ballot amazon.com/Give-Us-Ballot…

Mitch McConnell is blocking legislation passed by House to:

-restore Voting Rights Act

-adopt nationwide automatic registration & early voting

-expand vote by mail & give $3.6 billion election aid to states

-stop foreign election interference

motherjones.com/politics/2020/…