SOS Benson slams Supreme Court ruling on restrictive voting law

[marmar]

(Detroit Metro Times) The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to uphold an Arizona law that restricts how ballots can be cast was a devastating blow to democracy and underscores the importance of fighting similar Republican-backed voting measures in Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said.

The 6-3 ruling, with the court’s three liberal members dissenting, comes as Republicans in at least three dozen states, including Michigan, have introduced – or passed – legislation to curtail voting access.

The conservative justices concluded that voting restrictions in Arizona did not violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The court overturned an earlier ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the legislation was unlawful because it disproportionately impacted Black, Latino, and Native American voters.

"This decision is a tragic misinterpretation of one of the most important pieces of federal legislation in our nation’s history and strikes at the heart of all who have sacrificed so much so that our democracy works for all,” Benson said in a statement, calling the ruling “a call to action for every one of us to remain vigilant against all attempts at every level to restrict access to the from to vote.”

“That’s why our work to protect against discriminatory policies and practices in our elections, tell the truth about real threats to the security and integrity of our democracy, and guard the voting rights of all Michigan citizens must continue, at a greater pace and with greater urgency than ever before,” Benson said. ..........(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2021/07/02/sos-benson-slams-supreme-court-ruling-on-restrictive-voting-law#.YORX8g_S49A.link