Rock the Vote Statement On Supreme Court Decision in Shelby County v. Holder
Below is Rock the Vote President Heather Smith’s response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder.
“The Supreme Court just struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, eliminating key protections against racial discrimination in our voting process. The ability for each American to cast a ballot in our democracy without fear of discrimination – regardless of race, age, gender – is fundamental to the strength of our democracy.
While we no longer live in an era of Jim Crow laws or literacy tests, we have witnessed first hand and in great volume that discrimination continues; and the Court’s ruling today guts the exact law that protects our citizens.
We urge Congress to move swiftly in rewriting these protections to ensure that no eligible individual is denied the right to vote in this country.