Supreme Court strikes down key provision of Voting Rights Act

Just hours ago, the Supreme Court struck down 40 years of voting rights protections by gutting the Voting Rights Act in the case of Shelby County v. Holder. This is a major setback for voting rights and will have a real and detrimental impact on voters.

We need to respond TODAY. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced a bill to support a constitutional amendment explicitly guaranteeing the right to vote. Sign our petition now supporting the National Right to Vote Amendment and we will deliver your signatures to Congress right away.

http://action.usaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=548&track=taf

This ruling is a continuation and escalation of the war on voting. Republicans are using every gimmick and trick in the book to ram radical voter ID laws and roll back early voting and same day registration in state legislatures throughout the country. These laws specifically targeted minority voters with their motivation all too obvious — prevent minorities to vote in order to win GOP victories across the country.

We worked tirelessly to fight back against these laws, and in some cases we were victorious — at least temporarily. But in some cases like Florida, it became all too clear what happens when the GOP is successful in preventing the right to vote, with reports of voters waiting in line for for up to 7 hours just to cast their ballot.

This past election has made it abundantly clear that we need MORE voting rights protections, not less. Which is why this ruling is especially devastating today. Sign our petition now in support of the National Right to Vote Amendment.

http://action.usaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=548&track=taf

Our country is founded on the principle that we the people decide who will be our elected leaders. Discrimination and restricting the right to vote are an assault on the very fundamental principle this country is founded upon. Now join us as we take a stand to defend this most essential right. Click here to sign the petition now.

With today's ruling, civil rights were dealt a huge setback. But we've been in darker times before, and I still have hope that we can live the dream aspired to by the late Martin Luther King, Jr. That all men and women are created equal. That we all deserve equal protections under the law. And that we all must have the chance to exercise our most essential right in this country — the right to vote.

Thank you.