Why Latinas Should Read We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo
Nemonte Nenquimo’s We Will Be Jaguars tells a powerful story of Indigenous resistance, identity, and environmental justice making it essential reading for Latinas today.
Voting rights for Black, Latino, and women in the United States were not freely given they were fought for, organized for, and won through generations of struggle and acceptance of unfair rules. Civil rights leaders like the late John Lewis marched in Selma, and leaders like Dolores Huerta organized movements demanding dignity for farmworkers and Latino communities, to the long fight for women’s suffrage led by figures like Ida B. Wells and others who refused to be excluded from democracy. Each generation expanded access to the ballot and reshaped what American democracy could look like. Today, that hard-won progress sits at a major turning point, as voting rights protections are being diluted once again by Supreme Court decisions that are changing how access to the ballot is protected and enforced.
Voting rights in the United States are not just a legal issue they are a democracy issue, a civil rights issue, and a power issue that continues to evolve in real time.
Over the past decade, key Supreme Court decisions have reshaped how protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are enforced, with lasting implications for access to the ballot and political representation.
To understand where we are today, we have to start with what the Voting Rights Act actually did.
What Is the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and How Does It Protect Voting Rights?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most important civil rights laws in U.S. history. It effectively ended Jim Crow at the ballot box and established the principle of fair and equal elections. It was designed to stop racial discrimination in voting and ensure that Black voters who had been systematically excluded from the democratic process had real access to political participation. By protecting the Black vote, we protect ALL communities of color.
One of its strongest protections was “preclearance,” which required certain states, most of them in the south of the United States, with histories of racism, discrimination to get federal approval before changing their voting laws. This was a preventative safeguard it stopped discriminatory rules before they could go into effect. Many argue that the racism of yesterday, of the 50s and 60s isn't around anymore, but racism still persists.
A History of the Supreme Court Gutting Provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the formula used to determine which states were subject to preclearance. The law itself was not eliminated, but the enforcement mechanism was effectively disabled.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the formula relied on outdated data. But civil rights advocates saw something very different: a major weakening of one of the most effective tools for preventing voter discrimination.
In the years that followed, states across the country introduced new voting laws such as stricter voter ID requirements, reduced early voting periods, and polling place closures. Supporters of these policies argue they strengthen election integrity. Critics argue they disproportionately affect Black and Brown voters, young voters, and working-class communities by putting up obstacles to .
Another major shift came with Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, which made it harder to challenge voting laws under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, even when those laws have a discriminatory impact.
A more recent case, Louisiana v. Callais was first brought to the court in 2025 by a group of Louisiana citizens, white voters, who argued that a congressional map drawn to create a Black-majority district in Louisiana was 'unconstitutional'. The conservative judges ruled that while Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws race-based gerrymandering, Louisiana’s map did not fit the bill, and in fact unnecessarily employed racial statistics when drawing borders. Louisiana congressional primaries have been suspended as a result of the Supreme Court struck down of Louisiana's congressional map that represented Black voters, fairly.
In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan sounded the alarm that the decision effectively dismantled a core protection of the Voting Rights Act, describing it as a serious rollback of hard-won civil rights safeguards.
Taken together, these decisions have become damaging and weakening hits to the legal framework of voting rights in the United States not by removing the Voting Rights Act, but by narrowing how it can be enforced.
What “Equal Protection” Means in Voting Rights Cases Affecting Black and Latino Voters
This voting shift has also deepened political debate.
Members of the Republican Party and conservative justices of the Supreme Court argue these rulings are grounded in “equal protection” and state authority over elections. From that perspective, election laws should apply uniformly, and federal oversight should not single out specific states.
At the same time, civil rights advocates argue that these changes have uneven consequences. They point out that Black and Brown communities who have historically faced barriers to voting are often the most affected when access becomes more limited.
This is where voting rights connect directly to broader power.
When Black and Latino voters have full access to the ballot, the impact goes far beyond elections. Research consistently shows that increased participation in these communities influences policy outcomes in healthcare access, workers’ rights, education funding, immigration policy, and economic opportunity.
In other words: voting power shapes everyday life.
The Latino Vote and Political Influence
This conversation is also deeply connected to the growing influence of the Latino electorate in the United States. For more context on this, see our related analysis on how participation shapes national outcomes here:
👉 The Crucial Role of the Latino Vote in Shaping the US Presidential Election
Legal Challenges and What’s Ahead
Lawsuits are already in motion as civil rights organizations continue to challenge restrictive voting laws and push courts to clarify how remaining provisions of the Voting Rights Act should be applied.
At the same time, there is growing national debate about the future of the judiciary itself. Some advocates argue that upcoming election cycles including 2026 midterms could influence whether broader structural reforms, including potential changes to the Supreme Court, gain political traction.
Why This Voting Rights Moment Matters To Our Black and Brown Communities
The Voting Rights Act is still law but its enforcement power has changed significantly. What once allowed the federal government to proactively block discriminatory voting laws has been reduced, shifting more responsibility to individual states and to voters themselves.
That makes awareness more important than ever.
For Black and Brown communities, this is not just about legal theory it is about representation, policy outcomes, and political voice. It is about who gets access to power and how that power shapes real-life conditions.
This ongoing debate highlights a central tension in American democracy: how to balance state control of elections with the need to ensure equal access for all voters.
The future of voting rights in the United States will continue to be shaped by courts, legislation, legal challenges, and our civic engagement as U.S. Latinos and as Black Americans.
And that means the story is still being written.
