The message:
On Wednesday, April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) effectively useless, disregarding years of precedent and weakening one of the last remaining protections against racial discrimination in elections.
For decades, Section 2 ensured that communities of color could elect leaders who genuinely represent their concerns and interests. With this ruling, these communities now face the very real possibility of losing fair representation, especially in places where racial discrimination remains stark.
Over the past 15 years, the VRA has been steadily chipped away. Against the current backdrop of escalating federal attacks on voting rights — including the DOJ’s ongoing attempts to get its hands on our state's full, unredacted voter rolls — this latest decision proves that we can no longer rely on the federal government or the courts to uphold voting protections against those who seek to challenge our democracy.
With federal protections weakened yet again, now is the time for Delaware to step up and safeguard the voting rights of all its residents, especially communities of color. That’s why we need you to send a message to the Delaware General Assembly urging them to commit to introducing and supporting a Delaware Voting Rights Act immediately.
We continue to watch the federal VRA be whittled away without a response at the state level. Without firm action, we risk opening our state elections to discriminatory voting laws and voter suppression practices.
It’s past time for our state legislators to reaffirm our state’s values and make it clear that in Delaware, discrimination of any kind is not tolerated in our elections.
The recipient:
The Delaware General Assembly
The impact:
Since the federal VRA was weakened in 2013, at least 31 states have passed 103 restrictive voting laws, and many have enacted new legislative maps that dilute the voting power of racial minorities. A state-level Voting Rights Act is an important legal tool that would allow Delaware to push back against attacks on voting rights and longstanding injustices, as well as replace lost or weakened protections for Delaware voters.
State VRAs have been gaining traction in recent years. By passing a state-level VRA, Delaware would join states like California (2002), Washington (2018), Oregon (2019), Virginia (2021), New York (2022), Connecticut (2023), Minnesota (2024), and Colorado (2025) that have passed their own state VRAs.
According to 2023 polling, the majority of Delawareans are in favor of passing a state-level VRA that focuses on protecting the rights of vulnerable voters.
Time and time again, Delaware has been on the frontlines of the fight for our rights. By passing the Delaware Voting Rights Act, our state will not only be taking proactive action to ensure voters the protections we deserve but will also be leading the way for other states to enact their own protections.
