In Huff Post Commentary, The Leadership Conference Emphasizes Threat to Voting Rights with Supreme Court Vacancy

WASHINGTON – In a commentary in Huff Post, Kristine Lucius, executive vice president for policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, discusses the danger the country faces in protecting voting rights in the wake of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement.

“Replacing Justice Kennedy with a justice who shares Trump’s extreme position would leave millions of Americans more vulnerable to voting discrimination for generations,” said Lucius. “And that’s especially true given Trump’s intention to nominate a judge, as he said at a political rally just after the Justice’s retirement was announced, who can serve 40 or 45 years.”

Lucius warns that, although Kennedy himself helped to gut key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, upheld voter suppression laws, and endorsed racially discriminatory gerrymandering, things indeed could get even worse. “Trump’s next nominee will be in the mold of Justice Gorsuch, which should frighten anyone who cares about our democracy.”

The full text of the commentary can be found here.

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference, also published this video on the greater threat to all civil and human rights. She warns of the damage a Trump nominee can do not only to this generation, but to this generation’s children and grandchildren.