On April 29, the conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling effectively killing the Voting Rights Act. The law was enacted in 1965 as a pivotal piece of the American civil rights movement, ensuring BIPOC citizens would be able to vote.
In an opinion piece published the next day by the United Kingdom's The Guardian, columnist Moira Donegan wrote:
"The [United States] was not a true democracy before the Voting Rights Act. Wednesday’s [Supreme Court] decision has essentially destroyed the law..."
"America has only rarely been a true democracy, one where all citizens have the full right to vote and to have that vote counted..."
"It is not an exaggeration to say that the changes that will result will probably represent the greatest withdrawal of voting power from Black Americans since the end of Reconstruction and the establishment of Jim Crow. It is difficult to say how many seats Democrats will lose in the coming Republican redistricting bonanza that the court’s decision will allow."
For anyone viewing Donegan's assessment as an overreaction, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump quickly disabused them of that notion just days later.
On Sunday, Trump declared on Truth Social:
"We cannot allow there to be an Election that is conducted unconstitutionally simply for the 'convenience' of State Legislatures. If they have to vote twice, so be it. We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done."
"That is more important than administrative convenience. The byproduct is that the Republicans will receive more than 20 House Seats in the upcoming Midterms! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
In Trump's mind, the SCOTUS ruling is a mandate to states to gerrymander their congressional districts to ensure only Republican victories.
In response, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom shared Trump's declaration on X, captioned:
"Donald Trump is OPENLY calling to suspend elections so MAGA can rig them."
"That’s how democracy ends."
People found Trump's post disturbing.
@AndrgoMRT/X
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Trump and Republicans across the country began scrambling to rig the 2026 midterms almost as soon as Trump was inaugurated and his, and the GOP's, approval ratings began their nosedive over ineffective government—despite controlling the House, Senate, SCOTUS, and White House—and the Trump administration's many blunders.
Voter turnout in November will be critical to counter any GOP redistricting.
Over one-third of eligible voters chose not to vote at all in the 2024 presidential election. It's past time for the apathetic and purists to step up if they don't want the United States to slip even further into fascism.
Despite Trump constantly claiming he won in a landslide and his election was a mandate from the people, over two-thirds of eligible voters didn't vote for Trump, voting either for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or a third party candidate or not voting at all.
That two-thirds, who opposed Trump in 2024, needs to go to the polls in November.
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