Representative Napoleon Nelson, who serves Glenside, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, and Springfield, sent a memo titled “Protecting Pennsylvanians’ Voting Rights” to all House members on May 8.

The memo was written in response to the United States Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais on April 29. According to the Associated Press, the ruling “hollowed out a landmark Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere”.

“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the six conservatives. In her dissent for the three liberal justices, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court’s “gutting of Section 2 puts that achievement in peril.”

Nelson’s memo claims that the decision “gutted a key provision of this law by ruling that plaintiffs must demonstrate that a legislative map was made with an intent to dilute a minority group’s voting power for that map to be considered a racial gerrymander, a significant increase in the burden required to prove such discrimination.”

The memo continues:

This decision puts minority voters at higher risk of having their voting power diluted without proper recourse to solve such injustice. That is why we are introducing legislation to codify increased protections for Pennsylvania voters in state law. This measure will serve as a critical safeguard against the Supreme Court’s decisions to weaken the Voting Rights Act and will help to protect voting rights in Pennsylvania for years to come.

Decisions like Louisiana v. Callais demonstrate the importance of establishing voter protections at all levels of government, and it is critical that Pennsylvania not delay action on this matter. At a time when federal protections are being steadily weakened, states must step forward to ensure that every voter, regardless of race, ethnicity, or language background, retains equal access to political representation and an equal voice in our democracy.
 
Please join us in defending the rights of every Pennsylvania voter by co-sponsoring this vital and timely piece of legislation.

A formal legislative document has not been introduced yet, the memo says. You can read the case’s opinions here.

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