In the last decade, the US Supreme Court has severely weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was widely agreed to be the most influential civil rights law in our history.  

This term, the Court considers Section 2 in Merrill v. Milligan. It threatens to weaken a well-established precedent lower courts have used for decades to evaluate redistricting plans that are alleged to be racially discriminatory.

This blog explores the history of Section 2 and its impact on discriminatory redistricting plans, explains the dispute in Milligan, and previews potential next steps to protect voting rights. 

In June 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson — the first Black woman to serve on the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) — was sworn in as an associate justice. Justice Jackson is the first former public defender to serve on the Court. 

In the more than two centuries of the Court, no justice has come to the bench with a public defender’s experience, representing those charged with crimes who could not afford an attorney. 

(COCHISE, ARIZ.) - The Board of Supervisors in Cochise County, Arizona, voted on Monday to delay certifying this year's midterm election results, a clear violation of state law. The action jeopardizes the votes of tens of thousands of Arizonans and undermines the integrity of our democratic system, according to an amicus brief filed Wednesday by the League of Women Voters of Arizona, ACLU of Arizona, Arizona Democracy Resource Center, and Arizona Center for Empowerment. The groups are represented by Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, and the law firms Latham & Watkins LLP and Spencer Fane in support of the plaintiffs in two cases, Hobbs v. Crosby et al., and Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans, Inc. et al. v. Crosby et al.

This story originally aired on KLKN TV.

The League of Women’s Voters of Nebraska is preparing for a busy legislative session in 2023.