By Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
WASHINGTON D.C. – Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M, condemned a new U.S. Supreme Court decision that she says undermines the core protections of the Voting Rights Act in an April 29 press release. She warned that it will allow states to break up communities of color and make elections less fair.
“The Supreme Court just gave states the right to discriminate against Black, Latino, Native American, and Asian voters—to break their communities up among white districts under the guise of partisan gerrymandering,” she said.
In their 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ultimately weakened part of the Voting Rights Act, and limited the use of race in redistricting, requiring proof of intentional discrimination rather than just discriminatory effects. This decision will affect 2026 midterm maps.
“The Voting Rights Act stood against a history of racial discrimination for decades—it was born out of the blood-stained Civil War, the civil rights movement, the sad history of our country, and its attempts to disenfranchise minority voters,” Leger Fernández said. “The premise of the VRA was simple: protected minorities should have the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. It wasn’t a guarantee; it was just an opportunity.
“Today, the extreme Republicans on the Supreme Court gave racism the green light,” Leger Fernández continued. “They stripped our communities of that opportunity with a disgraceful decision that will make our elections less fair.
“Republicans and conservatives on the Supreme Court know they cannot win a free and fair election in November, so they are desperate to rig it by suppressing the vote,” she said.
