Another attack on voting rights | July 1, 2021

Another attack on voting rights
In a 6-3 decision today, all conservative Supreme Court Justices voted in favor of keeping Arizona HB 2023 in place, thereby continuing to disenfranchise Arizona voters of color, particularly those living in rural areas and on reservations.

It will still be illegal to deliver a neighbor’s early mail-in ballot, even if it prevents that voter from casting their vote. Those who cast a ballot in the wrong precinct will also continue to be punished by not having their vote counted.

In their majority opinion, these judges claim that these voting regulations will have a small impact on racial minorities as opposed to white voters, and that any differences in how communities are the result of differences in “employment, wealth, and education” (Opinion, p. 18). The same logic was used to justify literacy tests, wherein illiterate groups were barred from voting under the premise that very few illiterate people actually cast a ballot. This twisted perspective ignores the long term consequences of systemic racism and favors a white, upper class majority.

We call on Senators Sinema and Kelly to speak out against what has happened today, and to work with Congress to protect the voting rights of all Arizona residents.

Our state suffered a huge loss today, but we must not give up the fight to see a more equitable future for all.