WASHINGTON, DC - After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Shelby County vs. Holder that Section 4 of The Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional and as a result the protections of Section 5 cannot be enforced, Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

Today's Supreme Court decision imperils the most sacred right in our democracy - the right to vote.

"The facts are that conditions have not changed in many parts of our country where voters have suffered from a long history of racial discrimination in voting and new forms of voter suppression continue to threaten our democracy. In many states and localities across the country, we saw efforts to disenfranchise African American and Latino voters during the 2012 election. Whether in the form of onerous voter ID laws or citizenship check boxes meant to confuse voters, state and local governments are already changing their election laws and procedures in ways that will disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, including the elderly, the disabled and young people.

"With this decision, state and local governments in areas with a proven history of racial discrimination in voting will have no effective check on their power to change election laws as they please, potentially opening the floodgates to even more discriminatory practices that will prevent eligible citizens from voting. Congress should move swiftly to remedy the harm that the Court has done to one of our most important civil rights laws.

"While this is a truly disappointing decision, it should serve as further motivation for us to fight against voter suppression in all its forms, wherever we find it."

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