SCOTUS Guts Voting Rights
On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to deal another destructive blow to our tenuous democracy by gutting section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 2 once served as the primary protection against discriminatory voting systems.
Now that the section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has been effectively repealed, it has opened the door for lawmakers to enact discriminatory maps and roll back voting rights with impunity to suppress Black voters from having equal voting and political power, opportunity, and representation.
This decision is even more egregious because it is a direct slap in the face of our heroes, our idols, our leaders that suffered, marched, mobilized and sacrificed during the Civil Rights Movement. It encapsulates how reductive and harmful this decision is and it will have ripple effects across the country.
Immediate Impacts
With this decision, it will only embolden politicians seeking to rollback voting rights to try more noxious tactics to dilute the power of Black people at the ballot box. Already, Louisiana suspended its House primary election after voting had already begun. Even though the ACLU, ACLU-LA, and partners sued, the emergency motion to block it was denied.
These pernicious movements started to spread, with Republicans in the Tennessee House approving a Congressional map that slices up Memphis and effectively splits up Black voters into neighboring districts and thus diluting their voting power. We continue to see similar disturbing trends such as these in South Carolina, Alabama and there is a possibility that it could negatively impact more and more states. So where does that leave Wisconsin?
Wisconsin will not be directly affected by this decision. There are a lot of differences between Wisconsin, Louisiana and the South. Our legislative process and our structural distinctions make for policies and laws that reflect different ideologies.
But, let's be completely honest. Does racism and anti-blackness permeate every corner, every legislative hallway, every facet of our democracy? Of course. Will these aftershocks eventually be felt in some form or another here in Wisconsin? Without a doubt. So because of that, this is where we need to take a stand.
Keep Fighting
It is very easy to sink and feel helpless in times like these and let the toxicity wash over you and bring you down further. But you can take little steps to rebel against this, especially when the full weight of it hasn’t arrived here yet.
You can make changes in the legislatures, by engaging with your community, mobilizing and organizing with allies on the ground and pressuring your elected officials to create a fair and representative electoral system. We can also push for broader, bolder voting rights protections like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Join the ACLU’s democracy defense team. Make sure to show up and march on in both state and federal courts. Let your voice be heard.
And then do not forget to show up at the ballot box. Be prepared to vote in the August primaries and in November. Have a voting plan. Make sure to check with your friends and family whether they have registered to vote and what their voting plan is like finding their polling place, having their documents with them, etc.
The time to act is now and we cannot wander the wilderness, waiting for someone else to come save us when we have the potential to change our democracy, our country, our world, for the better.