In the midst of a storm of heated social media reactions and fiery speeches from Donald Trump, a significant decision has been made in Washington that could influence the outcome of the upcoming election.
The Supreme Court has ruled in a way that may jeopardize the seats of numerous non-white politicians in Congress.
The 1965 Voting Rights Act required states with large minority populations to create congressional districts that provide non-white candidates with a fair chance of winning.
However, much of this legislation was dismantled today in a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling.
Civil rights icon Al Sharpton criticized the decision, calling it a “bullet in the heart of the voting rights movement.”
“The Supreme Court hasn’t merely weakened a law; it has also undermined and dismantled the life’s work of Dr. Martin Luther King, John Lewis, and every individual who marched, bled, and sacrificed for Black Americans to have an equal voice at the ballot box,” he stated.
“Today’s 6-3 Supreme Court decision in the Callais case is a BIG WIN for Equal Protection under the Law, as it returns the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent, which was to protect against intentional Racial Discrimination,” he said.
Barack Obama meanwhile was sharply critical of the ruling.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities – so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit ‘racial bias’,” Obama said.
“And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach.”
The Supreme Court decision was specifically overturning a congressional map in Louisiana.
But Republicans are eyeing the decision as a means of holding power in Congress.
“Right now, this only applies to Louisiana, but states can challenge their congressional maps and, with precedent, pick up Republican seats,” Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale said.
“If states are aggressive, we could see a healthy majority in the House perpetually.”
In the south of America, Republicans are now rapidly moving to draw black Democrats out of their seats.
Tennessee’s governor has already released a draft map that would split the black majority seat in Memphis into three seats where white voters would have overwhelming advantages.
And in Florida this morning, Republicans in the legislature redrew the congressional map that would give their party a 24-4 seat advantage.
Prominent Republicans in Mississippi are already pushing to abolish that state’s only black majority seat.
And the loss could be even bigger in Georgia, where Democrats hold four black majority seats.
As a consequence of the law being changed, Democrats could lose more than a dozen seats in the House of Representatives.
Countless more could be lost in state legislatures.
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