New York trial court judge struck down the state’s Voting Rights Act on Thursday, ruling that the law is unconstitutional because it protects certain minority groups from discrimination when it should protect all voters equally.
Orange County judge Maria Vazquez-Doles said the New York Voting Rights Act, which “provides enhanced rights” to protected classes based on race and ethnicity, violates the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment. To justify her decision, she cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended race-based affirmative action in college and university admissions.
In that case, the Court determined that the equal-protection clause, Vazquez-Doles wrote, “prohibits discrimination against all people, not just those classes who have experienced historic discrimination or who experienced such morally repugnant treatment to a degree greater than other people.”
In June 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York. The bill was sold as an attempt to strengthen the voting rights of all New Yorkers, especially those belonging to historically marginalized or disenfranchised communities. The legislation prohibits voter suppression and intimidation against minorities, among other discriminatory practices.