Council vows to defend voting rights after Supreme Court ruling
WINDOW ROCK
Speaker Crystalyne Curley said the Navajo Nation will continue defending the voting rights of all Diné citizens after the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a Louisiana congressional map and narrowed a civil rights protection tribes have used for decades to challenge the dilution of Native voting power.
The 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, issued April 29, found that Louisiana’s SB8 congressional map, which included a second majority-Black district, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in a ruling that reshaped the framework that has governed Section 2 vote-dilution claims under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 since the court’s 1986 decision in Thornburg v. Gingles.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote in dissent that the ruling renders Section 2 “all but a dead letter.”
Curley said in a text message Wednesday that the decision is a reminder that tribal governments must remain vigilant as courts continue to reshape federal voting protections.
“The Supreme Court decision stresses why we must remain diligent in protecting the right to vote no matter where our people live,” Curley said.
Curley said the issue extends beyond the Navajo Nation’s boundaries because many Diné citizens live in cities and states throughout the country. She said voting access remains especially important for elders, rural residents and Navajo citizens who face language, distance, transportation and polling-location barriers.
To read the full article, please see the April 30, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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