Today’s Supreme Court Brnovich v. DNC decision, which effectively gutted almost all of the enforcement tools of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, coupled with dark money groups and self-serving Republicans in the Arizona legislature moving even further to restrict voting rights, has intensified calls for Congress to take action.
“The past 24 hours have been a disaster for our democracy. From today’s Supreme Court decision that upheld two discriminatory, racist Arizona election laws and weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, to Governor Ducey signing a budget that further attacks the right to vote, the Republican Party is eating away at the fundamentals of American democracy,” said End Citizens United and Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller. “The only way we can protect the freedom to vote against this assault is for Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Senate should not let its outdated procedure stand in the way.”
The new Arizona budget signed into law by Governor Ducey strips Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs of the right to defend the state’s election laws and instead gives the Republican Attorney General sole authority over election related lawsuits; gives outside third party groups authority to purge Arizona voters from the state’s voter rolls; essentially makes the sham audit practice permanent; and perpetuates the dangerous and anti-democratic Big Lie that the election was stolen. These dark money-backed laws are nothing more than a power grab by baseless conspiracy theory-fueled Republicans and their special interest allies in an attempt to further attack the freedom to vote, which they were given a free pass to do this morning by the conservative justices of the Supreme Court.
The For the People Act (H.R.1/S.1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will counteract the anti-voting laws in Arizona and other states. Recently, Senate Republicans blocked even having a debate on the For the People Act, sparking calls to reform the filibuster and not let procedure stand in the way of protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans.
###