Statement: National Racial Justice Organization Welcomes SCOTUS Rejection of PA Lawsuit
PA, TX lawsuits are part of effort to suppress Black and Brown political power nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied a request from a group of Pennsylvania lawmakers seeking to delay certification of the state’s election results. Jorge L. Vasquez Jr., Director of Power and Democracy at Advancement Project National Office, stated the following in response to the ruling:
“We welcome the Court’s swift rejection of this lawsuit, which sought to subvert the will of Pennsylvania voters. However, it is important to recognize that this lawsuit is only part of a broader attack on the political power of Black and Brown Americans and young voters of color who turned out in record numbers to vote for justice and equality. The lawsuit being filed by Texas’ Attorney General—and being joined by the President—to prevent Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from casting their Electoral College votes is only the latest front in this assault.
“It is no accident that Philadelphia, Detroit, Phoenix, Atlanta and other cities with a substantial number of Black and Brown voters have become primary targets of baseless speculation about voter fraud. This fear mongering has an explicit purpose: establishing a pretextual justification for disenfranchisement. A little over a month after the election, lawmakers are already leveraging these unfounded claims of voter fraud in order to pass policies that will make it harder for Black and Brown people to vote.
“As those at the highest levels of our government continue to spread conspiracies about voter fraud—in our courts, in our legislatures and through the media—we must speak plainly about what these efforts represent: a racist agenda to disenfranchise voters of color.”
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