WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling to invalidate key portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:

This is a deeply disappointing decision by the Court today, and a big step backwards for the health of our democracy. The Voting Rights Act has been a critical tool to combat racial discrimination at the polls, particularly in states with an infamous history of disenfranchising minority groups. But in a 5-4 decision today, our nation’s highest court has decided that because of the Voting Rights Act’s success, we should get rid of it, striking down the provision that provides for the actual enforcement of the law. The Court ignored the massive record of evidence of discrimination at the polls that Congress amassed in 2006 when it voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Act. They had an opportunity today to protect voting rights for all Americans, but instead chose to punt on their own responsibility. Now, the responsibility falls again to Congress, and I‘ll continue to work to ensure that voters across the country, no matter their color or creed, can freely exercise one of our most basic constitutional rights.

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