WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following are statements from Democracy Defenders Fund regarding today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais.

Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), executive chair of DDF:

“It is a dark day for our country. The Roberts Court has all but eliminated  the Voting Rights Act’s strongest remaining tool for stopping discriminatory maps and election practices. Voters will now have fewer ways to block discrimination in how districts are drawn, and ultimately how their communities are represented. It is more important than ever to meet this moment with an all-out, cross-coalition effort to ensure equal access to the ballot for Black and Latino citizens and the freedom to vote for all.”

Susan Corke, executive director of DDF:

“This decision is devastating and profoundly ahistorical. Congress, on a bipartisan basis, enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its Section 2 protections precisely because it recognized that racial vote dilution was a persistent, structural problem requiring robust federal intervention.

“Voting rights in this country were hard-won and secured through generations of struggle against electoral systems deliberately designed to deny Black communities meaningful political power. By twisting the text and history of Section 2, this Court has given political operatives a green light to marginalize and silence voters of color with impunity.

“The Constitution was designed to protect and strengthen our democracy, not to exclude people from participation in it. The Callais decision speaks volumes about whose voices the Court believes matter and whose do not.

“That distorted vision of our democracy is anathema to our founding principles and contrary to the Constitution. But we are not deterred. The fight for a truly multiracial democracy, where every community has a real voice and meaningful representation, continues.”

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.