Top Illinois Democrats call U.S. Supreme Court ruling on voting rights a 'crushing blow to our democracy'
Former President Barack Obama and key Illinois Democrats, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, are condemning Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court decision to dilute a Voting Rights Act provision, which is likely to lead to redistricting across the country and could help Republicans continue to control the House.
The Supreme Court struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, diluting a Civil Rights-era law that was aimed at increasing minority representation in Congress and elsewhere. In the 6-3 ruling, the court's majority found that the Louisiana district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race. Justice Samuel Alito called the map "an unconstitutional gerrymander."
The ruling is likely to impact elections in 2028, since many filing deadlines for this year's elections have passed, including in Illinois. Louisiana may have to change its redistricting plan to comply with the ruling, however.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said on Wednesday that a proposed state constitutional amendment on redistricting will not advance this legislative session so that legal experts can review the ruling and evaluate the best response for Illinois.
Obama said the ruling "effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities — so long as they do it under the guise of 'partisanship' rather than explicit 'racial bias.'"
The former president said in a statement that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is "abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach."
But he also posed some optimism.
"The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome," Obama said. "But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers — not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level."
Pritzker, who said last year that Illinois would fight back if Republican states had opted to redistrict mid-cycle, emphasized the massive impact the decision will have on the country. The Democratic governor has said that any redistricting in Indiana could trigger a remap in Illinois. Last year, Indiana Republicans rebuked President Donald Trump's efforts for legislators to redraw maps to gain more GOP seats in the House.
"We must call this for what it is: voter suppression that will silence Black and brown voters," the governor said in a statement. "The magnitude of this decision cannot be understated — it guts the Voting Rights Act and its very purpose of protecting all voices. Every American deserves an equal vote."
Durbin, who is still pushing for the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore safeguards to the original Voting Rights Act, said the decision shows the supermajority "has again turned its back on the promise of an equal right to vote, further eroding the landmark Voting Rights Act."
Duckworth called the decision "a crushing blow to our democracy."
"We cannot stand by as Trump's extreme SCOTUS eviscerates protections against voter suppression that heroes like Dr. King and John Lewis marched for," Duckworth said on social media. "We need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Now."
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who won the Democratic primary for Durbin's seat, said the ruling is part of a GOP effort to gut the Voting Rights Act and dilute Black representation.
"Today’s SCOTUS ruling is a betrayal of our basic democratic values as a country — turning back the clock on hard-won civil rights victories," Stratton said in a statement. “This isn’t just about Louisiana; this will have nationwide impacts on Congressional districting and voter representation for generations."
Contributing: AP