"I am deeply disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision today… Today's decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent."
President Barack Obama.
"Discrimination at the ballot box is a real problem and causes real harm to our democracy. This ruling is a major step backwards in the ongoing fight for a truly free and fair democracy and democratic system."
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
"The right to vote is one of our most important rights as Americans. We have come so far as a country, and it is very disappointing that a narrow majority in the Supreme Court wants to take us backwards. For five decades, the Voting Rights Act has protected the right of every American to vote, and we need to come together in Congress, as we have in the past, to continue this law."
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
"Damn, that citizenship thing was so great for awhile."
Melissa Harris-Perry, Tulane University Law Professor
"I am slightly surprised by how physically enraged I find myself."
Christopher Hayes, MSNBC
"Today's ruling by the Supreme Court striking down parts of this important law is more than a disappointment — it's an injustice. But we can't let it discourage us or force us out of this fight."
Donna Brazille, DNC vice chair
"My dad was born in Mississippi in 1933, more than 60 years after the 15th Amendment guaranteed black people the right to vote, but 32 years before the Voting Rights Act would make suffrage a reality…after the Supreme Court gutted enforcement of a key VRA provision, my father's story reminds me more of how much has been forgotten."
Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press columnist
