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🏛️ A key provision of the Voting Rights Act that restricted racial discrimination in voting for decades has been gutted by the Supreme Court. So, what actually happens when Black and brown voters lose proper representation in their communities? Here’s what you need to know👇

THE RULING: The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively invalidates Section 2 of the VRA as it has been understood for four decades. Now, states may draw district lines in ways that undercut the political power of minority voters with virtually no limit.

THE IMMEDIATE IMPACTS: While arriving too late in the election cycle to significantly affect the 2026 midterms in most states, the decision gifts Republicans an advantage in the fight for control of Congress as predominantly Southern states race to gerrymander away their Majority-minority districts.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: But the impacts of the decision will be felt most acutely in local communities for generations to come.

SCHOOL BOARDS: There will likely be fewer minority-represented voices on school boards across the country, in jurisdictions where minority students are often the majority of the student population.

School boards are also an important entry point for candidates of color who later run for state legislature, county commission and Congress. The gutting of Section 2 of the VRA could drastically change these candidate fields.

COUNTY COMMISSIONS: In most states, county commissions appoint or fund the election commissioners or boards of elections. With this SCOTUS decision, the body that has a say in how elections actually run in your county may not reflect the demographics of the community.

Law enforcement funding, communicable disease response, roads, water, infrastructure and more fall under the jurisdiction of many county commissions. Without state-level allies, there’s no one to fight against systems that disproportionately impact Black communities.