FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 30, 2026

Contact: Pablo DeJesús | info@uusj.org

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A Tremendous Blow Against Voting Rights

Conservative Justices clear the way for gerrymandering 

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, April 29, in a significant ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court facilitated the potential, perhaps likely,  weakening of voting influence for people of color and language minority groups. Wednesday’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais essentially permits the drawing of racially biased political maps nationwide, affecting representation at all levels of government, from Congress down to local school boards. 

This decision threatens the anti-discriminatory principles enshrined in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, as well as the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 

 

Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, stated: 

“In this 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act, and Unitarian Universalists strongly oppose the action. It runs counter to our teachings on equity, justice, and inclusion. That every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness. That we work to be a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community where all thrive. That we work to ever-widen our circles of solidarity and mutual respect.

In our view, this ruling expresses a willingness to rob—yes, steal and deprive—voters of their ‘somebodyiness’ in our body politic. King’s antidote to the ‘nobodiness’ produced by centuries of systemic racism and segregation. What has become, in our modern-day circumstances, a profound glee for othering, vilification, and scapegoating. A disturbing desire to sideline those holding different perspectives, in dissent, or opposition. We as Unitarian Universalists do not condone that tendency.

By interpreting Section 2 to require proof of intentional racial discrimination, which is difficult to demonstrate, this ruling undermines the protections against racial gerrymandering and may lead to increased partisan gerrymandering. We fear modern echoes of Jim Crow-style voter suppression. We disagree with the majority, which emphasized the need for strong evidence of current intentional discrimination. That approach ignores how systems of oppression, repression, and disenfranchisement have lingering effects and metastasize as social and governance norms with subtle expression–yet profound consequences. Especially regarding voting and voter participation.

We agree with Justice Kagan’s dissent, which argued that the decision effectively nullifies the VRA and will erode minority voting power. “Eviscerate the law” was the phrase she used. That worries us. In our republic and representative system, non-participation is a foundational and existential threat. If the people have no real and substantive mechanism to consent to be governed, to vote, and participate, then the compact between those who govern and those who are governed is all but rendered null and void. Indeed, too many of the actions by those with governing power since January of 2025 have seemed designed to press this case and prove to Americans that our voices matter little to those in leadership.

Many serious and sober considerations of this decision project that the ruling may disadvantage minority voting strength by allowing district maps that dilute minority voting power. Rather than fighting to mount arguments that win over such communities, achieving victory in the vaunted ‘market place of ideas,’ they will be strategically ignored. They will be thinned and diminished to near voicelessness. Robbed of their voting ‘somebodyiness,’ rendered back to voting ‘nobodiness.’

This decision follows a trend of the Court limiting the VRA’s reach, notably after the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, and aligns with the 2019 Rucho decision, which deemed partisan gerrymandering beyond judicial intervention. Those were mistaken legal findings. History will prove so, eventually. Yet, in the here and now, the impact of this ruling could extend to various levels of government, potentially reversing gains in minority representation in local elections. That is deeply troubling. 

We Unitarian Universalists oppose this decision, and recommit to the ongoing fight to secure voting rights.”

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Established in 1999, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice is a network of Unitarian Universalist individuals and congregations that lifts up the light of reason, the warmth of community, and the flame of hope to advance equitable national policies and actions aligned with UU values through witness, education, and advocacy. We envision a just, compassionate, and sustainable world community. 

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