Supreme Court Undermines Right to Vote

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's decision in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute:

"Five Justices on the Supreme Court today undermined the fundamental right to vote by making it easier for states to suppress the vote. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires states to maintain accurate voter rolls but also to ensure that voters are not improperly purged. Until the current presidential administration, three different administrations from both political parties enforced the law by fighting efforts to remove voters if they chose not to vote. Voting has never been a 'use it or lose it' right.

"Today's decision contradicts the text and purpose of the NVRA, and, as Justice Sotomayor noted in her dissent, 'entirely ignores the history of voter suppression against which the NVRA was enacted.' This decision will allow states to obstruct countless eligible voters from participating in our country's electoral system and may encourage other states to follow suit with restrictive voting practices. Congress must act now to overturn this decision so that this type of voter purging is prohibited. We should make it easier, not more difficult, for citizens to exercise their right to vote."

The Leadership Conference and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute case. It can be found here.