UPDATE 12:10 PM EST:
President Obama releases a statement on the Voting Rights Act ruling, saying that he is “deeply disappointed.”
“I am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision today. For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act – enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in Congress – has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans. Today’s decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent.
“As a nation, we’ve made a great deal of progress towards guaranteeing every American the right to vote. But, as the Supreme Court recognized, voting discrimination still exists. And while today’s decision is a setback, it doesn’t represent the end of our efforts to end voting discrimination. I am calling on Congress to pass legislation to ensure every American has equal access to the polls. My Administration will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a fair and equal voting process. “
SOURCE: WashPost
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UPDATE: 10:19 AM EST:
U.S. Supreme Court rules Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional.
More details to come.
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With the end of its nine-month term quickly approaching and a handful of monumental cases they have yet to rule on, Chief Justice John Roberts stated the Supreme Court will be making more decisions on Tuesday.
On Monday, the court made announcements on only five cases, leaving another six still unannounced.
Of the cases they will address on Tuesday, two pertain to gay marriage (Proposition 8 and DOMA) and another pertains to voting rights.
No word on their rulings just yet, but let’s hope they don’t flake again today – yesterday the major decisions were supposed to come down, but were rescheduled.
In the meantime, we have no choice but to sit here and wait…
And hope the Supreme Court is on the right side of history! We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
SOURCE: HuffPost
