This week, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt one of the most damaging blows to voting rights in a generation. At the same time, right here in Delaware, Governor Matt Meyer signed an executive order to protect your vote. Here is what you need to know.
The Supreme Court’s 2026 ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial gerrymandering. Here’s what the decision means and why organizations like SDARJ and the ACLU are essential to the next chapter of the fight against systemic racism.
For Black Delawareans, the right to vote was not truly reliable until 1965. The Fifteenth Amendment had existed for generations, but in practice Black citizens still faced uneven access, intimidation, and local barriers. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed that reality by making voting rights enforceable, not just theoretical. That was the turning point.
Over nine decades, efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to recognize men’s and women’s rights have faced major challenges.
As early as 1789, the Constitution granted states the power to set voting requirements mostly limited to property-owning and tax-paying White males. A few states allowed free Black men to vote and New Jersey included unmarried and widowed women who owned property to vote. It wasn’t until 1870, when the 15th Amendment was ratified, that Black and White men had the right to vote.
Several bills that we have been working very hard on will be having committee hearings tomorrow, May 21. Please take this opportunity to support our efforts. Here are ways to do this.
