LCV Statement on SCOTUS Decision in Louisiana v. Callais

Washington, D.C. — In response to today’s decision by the Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Senior Director of Judiciary and Democracy, Doug Lindner:

“Today’s decision by the MAGA Supreme Court justices represents one of the biggest rollbacks of freedoms for the American people in living memory. For generations after the Civil War, the promise of civil rights and voting rights for Black Americans was broken by racist laws and racist officials, as well as widespread violence and intimidation. In 1964, only 6.7% of eligible Black voters in Mississippi were registered to vote. By 1967, two years after the landmark Voting Rights Act (VRA), 59.8% were registered. And now that law is effectively gone.

Far-right Supreme Court justices have repeatedly and baselessly weakened the Voting Rights Act for over a decade, but today’s decision represents a new low for the Court as well as the nation. Demolishing the historic Voting Rights Act threatens the right to vote for tens of millions of Black voters and other voters of color, whose primary protection from disenfranchisement is lost. It imperils fair district maps for voters nationwide, as the MAGA justices have now denied protection against both racial and partisan gerrymandering. It will exacerbate environmental injustice and endanger the health of disenfranchised communities across the country. Even as we redouble our efforts to protect free and fair elections at the state level, we cannot allow this decision to stand. Congress must protect our fundamental freedom to choose our own leaders by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the VRA, as well as the Freedom to Vote Act and D.C. Statehood. And at the next opportunity, we must expand and rebalance our Supreme Court by adding seats for justices who work for the people, not polluter-backed authoritarians.”

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