[Opinion]
The US Supreme Court appears ready to nullify the Voting Rights ActCourt has repeatedly expanded states' leeway to make voting laws that would have previously been deemed discriminatory
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/16/supreme-court-voting-rights-act 🔗The Guardian - Moira Donegan
Thu 16 Oct 2025 07.00 EDT
The last remaining piece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act – section 2, which empowers the federal government to protect voters from racial gerrymandering meant to dilute Black political power – appears headed for an untimely end. At oral arguments in Louisiana v Callais on Wednesday, the US supreme court appeared ready to strike down section 2, effectively completing the gradual nullification of the Voting Rights Act that it has pursued for over a decade.
But now, a group of people identifying themselves as "non-African-American voters" have sued to get those racially proportionate maps thrown out, arguing that enforcement of the VRA violates their own rights under the 14th and 15th amendments. They claim the maps drawn to remedy racial discrimination against Black people in fact constitute racial discrimination against non-Black (read: white) people. The court seems likely to side with them.
If the supreme court rules in favor of the "non-African-American" voters and vacates what is left of the Voting Rights Act, as they are expected to, then a decision will probably come down sometime in June, just a few months before the November 2026 midterms. The resulting racial gerrymanders are expected to net Republicans 19 House seats.--------------------------
This Administration has repeatedly attacked the civil rights of all citizens in favor of its own political agenda. From the appointment of loyalists to Cabinet positions, to the firing of agency and department heads that do not toe the line, to gutting funding to universities, organizations, cities, counties, and states, and extorting them into compliance, to the weaponization of the Justice Department against political enemies, and even the military deployment against our own citizens.
We have heard the President call for more Republican seats in Congress, because their majority is not likely to exist after the midterm elections. Historically, the party in power suffers losses during the midterm elections. During Trump's last term, this resulted in him being impeached twice.
The call for more Republican power has been answered by many states gerrymandering their voter maps to create the likelihood of more seats in Congress. The Supreme Court, whose job it is to interpret the laws and keep them in line with the Constitutional amendments enacted by elected representatives in Congress, now appears to be taking a knee to the dictates of this Administration.
This has been going on for years, but the last paragraph from this opinion piece stands out as a glaring omen:
"If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the 'non-African-American' voters and vacates what is left of the Voting Rights Act,
as they are expected to, then a decision will probably come down sometime in June,
just a few months before the November 2026 midterms. The resulting racial gerrymanders are expected to net Republicans 19 House seats."
Is it any surprise that Saturday, October 18th, will see thousands of "No Kings" protests all over the country, with millions of people expressing their disgust with the discriminatory policies of this Administration? Is it any surprise that in preparation for these protests (which have been happening since June), National Guard troops are being deployed to major cities, and Trump has hinted at invoking the Insurrection Act on multiple occasions?
The People are getting fed up. The LGBTQ community is a small one. However, we have supporters and allies who significantly increase our numbers. They may have their own agendas, but they are all calling for equal rights for all Americans.
