Advancement Project National Office Statement on Brnovich v. DNC Supreme Court Case
CONTACT
Jeralyn Cave
jcave@advancementproject.org
202-921-7321
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act in its ruling in Brnovich v. DNC, a case challenging voting laws in Arizona that discard provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct and limit who can return absentee ballots. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that Arizona’s voting laws do not violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and its ban on ballot harvesting was not enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose. Advancement Project National Office, a 21st century racial justice organization release the following statement.
“This decision puts the Voting Rights Act on life support,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project National Office. “It essentially makes it harder to prove racial discrimination in voting cases and allows states to implement restrictive voting laws without evidence of ‘sagging voter confidence’ or voter fraud. The ruling fundamentally jeopardizes all Americans’ freedom to vote and creates barriers to the ballot box that neither increase the integrity of our elections, nor increases the confidence of voters in our democracy.”
“Make no mistake, it is not ‘very easy’ for Black, Latinx and Native Americans to vote in and beyond Arizona,” continued Dianis. “The wave of voter suppression legislation sweeping the country is part of a multi-pronged, long-term strategy to ensure that the record turnout among voters of color during the 2020 elections never happens again. States like Arizona, Georgia and Florida are petri dishes for this strategy that includes blocking access to the ballot box, usurping authority from local election boards, shifting power away from Black and Brown communities to reliably anti-voter legislative bodies, and creating new avenues to overturn the results of elections. Unfortunately, the horrible Supreme Court decision greenlights these suppression tactics and prioritizes the interests of conservative state legislators intent on maintaining their own power over voters access to democracy.”
“Today’s decision further illustrates why Congress must pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. These two pieces of legislation would restore federal oversight of elections in states with a history of discrimination and implement common sense standards for voting nationwide,” said Gilda Daniels, Litigation Director for Advancement Project National Office. “It also clear that while Congress must do more, we must enshrine an explicit right to vote in law. This will allow us to protect the freedom to vote and thwart voter suppression before it happens. Our fight for voting rights will continue to be an uphill battle in the wake of the ruling, but our advocacy for solutions will not stop.
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Advancement Project is a next generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change.
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