Sen. Charles Sydnor barely had 24 hours to savor Maryland’s voting rights act becoming law before the U.S. Supreme Court weakened an anti-discrimination component of the national Voting Rights Act in a landmark case involving a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana.
The Baltimore County Democrat co-sponsored the state bill, which Gov. Wes Moore signed into law on Tuesday, and has been connected to the cause since disputing a Baltimore County redistricting proposal that resulted in a 2021 lawsuit.
“It kind of felt a little like when you’re going down on the roller coaster that dropped. You knew in your heart of hearts, something likely was coming, but you don’t have to accept it until it happens,” he said. “And then that’s when it kind of hits you.”
Moore said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision to “kneecap” the Voting Rights Act will make it “easier to discriminate, easier to suppress, and easier to silence voters who have already fought too long and too hard for the right to be heard.
“The VRA was built to stop discrimination before it took root, but this decision is a betrayal of the idea that in America, every vote counts,” the Democrat said.
The Supreme Court’s decision will not affect Maryland very much because the main application is in states that want to gerrymander in favor of white Republicans, said Mark Graber, a constitutional law professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
“Maryland doesn’t want to gerrymander in favor of white Republicans,” he said. “There may be a couple of things that people can declare unconstitutional, but basically, Maryland can do what Maryland wants to do.”
The effect will be felt in places like Louisiana, Mississippi, and other places where people have already announced that they are going to get rid of districts with African American representation, Graber added.
It’s one of a series of court decisions against people who use race or race proxies to benefit African-Americans, he said.
“The Supreme Court does not like it when the federal government, states or communities make election laws for the purpose of increasing minority representation,” he added. “And they tend to use whatever tools are in their toolbox to prevent that.”
There were mixed emotions among many of Maryland’s top elected officials who expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority found that the Mississippi district, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race. But some took comfort in knowing that Maryland passed its own voting rights act.
Maryland’s law gives the authority to the attorney general and citizens to bring cases against municipalities and counties if they create voting systems that unfairly harm protected classes, such as race or people who speak a language other than English, across the state, Sydnor explained.
What transpired in Baltimore County was “not right — especially in one of the blue states of Maryland," Sydnor recalled thinking.
“It’s a big deal.”
House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk thought the Supreme Court’s decision would come in June, but it came “much earlier,” she added.
“I just could not let that bill die because I knew that this case was pending, and sure enough this happened,” she said.
Peña-Melnyk, a Democrat representing parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, said that as a person of color she was saddened by the Supreme Court’s decision.
“I know how important representation is and how if we’re not in these rooms,” she said, “we don’t matter. We’re an afterthought, and our experiences are not taken into consideration. And it matters when it comes to everything from the policies that we made to the budget to everything.”
In light of the Supreme Court ruling, Maryland passed an “important” state voting rights act “to prevent vote dilution for Black and Brown voters” that came right on time, said Del. Stephanie M. Smith.
Smith, a Baltimore City Democrat, said she will reintroduce a part of the voting rights bill — dropped this time around — that would have enabled residents the right to bring a civil suit if they experience acts of voter intimidation, deception, suppression and harassment.
“Opponents of voting rights may feel emboldened by this ruling; therefore we need the strongest legal framework to promote safe, fair, and accessible elections,” she said.
Smith, like the other politicians, expressed disbelief in the rulings of the high court this week.
“So many generations shed blood, sweat, and tears for federal voting protections,” she said. “Now, my generation is seeking state protections to stand in the gap created by the federal retreat from the hallmark achievements of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Sadly, our Black elders have both gained and lost so much in a lifetime.”
Peña-Melnyk said that she’s “blessed to live in Maryland” and that “we are able to make sure we provide protections for the community.”
“There’ll be more to do,” she said.
That could include revisiting a contentious plan to redraw all eight of Maryland’s U.S. House districts to favor Democrats. Moore and Peña-Melnyk wanted to redistrict; Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, did not.
“I also wish we had done the redistricting as well,” Peña-Melnyk said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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