Today, the DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, Reyna Walters-Morgan, appeared on the Democrats’ Daily Blueprint to discuss Louisiana v. Callais. This landmark case, which the Supreme Court heard arguments on this week, could repeal parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and allow Republicans to further gerrymander the electoral map.

WATCH

You can find highlights from the conversation below: 

On the Supreme Court case, Louisiana v. Callais, and why it matters for next year’s midterm elections:

Vice Chair Walters-Morgan: “This case deals with the Voting Rights Act, and for those who may not know, the Voting Rights Act prevents discrimination and ensures that communities of color across the country can have meaningful representation. Section 2 is at issue here, and that section specifically has been an effective tool that prevents any practice or procedure that denies the right to vote based on race. In the past, this Act has been used to eliminate poll taxes and literacy tests. It’s also been critical in redistricting cases. We are really seeing efforts by Republicans to pick their voters and limit the impact of voters who don’t agree with them, and that’s really what’s at issue here.

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“The Voting Rights Act [also] ensures that voters have meaningful representation and a meaningful say in who represents them. Just to give you an idea, there are researchers who have indicated that if the Voting Rights Act is eliminated in the wake of this case, that we could lose up to 30% of the current members of the Congressional Black Caucus and up to 11% of the current members of the Hispanic Caucus. So this will have real implications in terms of what our representation looks like and ensuring that our representatives in Congress look like America.”

On Republican efforts to undermine the right to vote and disenfranchise voters of color:

Vice Chair Walters-Morgan: “[Republicans] have definitely taken a much more aggressive stance in trying to limit access to voting. People need to remember that protecting the right to vote and fighting against discrimination and voting was not always a partisan issue. Mitch McConnell voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in 2006 and Republican President George W. Bush signed that bill into law. But what we are seeing now is an even more aggressive approach in making it harder to vote. Republicans wanting to change the rules when they don’t win elections, refusing to accept election results, changing their arguments, or I might even say lying under oath when it comes to describing how they are drawing these legislative maps. The Republicans have unfortunately proven to be a disaster when it comes to governing. And instead of creating policies that work, they just want fewer people to vote. And if they put just a fraction of the energy into creating policies that help the American people as they do to limiting and suppressing the right to vote, we would be in a much better place.”

On Democratic efforts to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965:

Vice Chair Walters-Morgan: “Democrats have been champions of the John Lewis Voting Rights [Advancement] Act for several, several  years, and I believe it was, in fact, one of the first bills, I think, actually the first bill that was introduced when Speaker Pelosi last held that position. 

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“Unfortunately, we don’t have the numbers in Congress right now to get that bill passed, but we need to continue to remind people how important these protections are. And it’s not a partisan issue. It is about making sure that every eligible American can cast a ballot that counts. The good news is, is that several states do have their own versions of the Voting Rights Act, and the states, in some instances, are really trying to pick up the slack ensure that those protections are guaranteed for state voters, even though the federal government hasn’t been able to get it across the finish line yet.”