Blumenthal Statement on the Supreme Court's Decisions Gutting the Voting Rights Act, Expanding the Influence of Dark Money

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement in response to the final two opinions released today by Supreme Court:

“Today’s opinions make clear that when our democratic values are at stake, the Roberts Court is at its most partisan and its most activist.  The Supreme Court’s conservative majority clearly believes in a closed democratic system, where it is easier for dark money to buy election victories and harder for the people to vote – and is acting unilaterally to achieve it.”

On the decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee: “The Roberts Court continues its assault on the Voting Rights Act in today’s deeply flawed and anti-democratic decision. Yet again, in a display of stunning judicial overreach, the Court’s conservative majority has shredded a law enacted by Congress to protect the foundation of our democracy: Americans’ right to vote. This appalling opinion appears to gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, replacing its sweeping statutory protection of an equal right to vote with a misguided and entirely judge-made test that favors voter suppression. It is more urgent than ever that Congress move ahead swiftly with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and other legislative remedies to protect access to the ballot box – and American democracy as we know it.”

On the decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Rodriquez: “If Citizens United opened the floodgates to corrupting political spending, then this decision breaks the levees. Today’s decision further entrenches dark money’s hold on our political system and policy-making by dismissing decades of legal precedent – not to mention basic common sense – to undermine campaign finance disclosure requirements.”

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