Some may dismiss me as Chicken Little, but for two decades the Roberts Court has steadily eroded America’s democratic institutions.
The Roberts Court has gutted key protections of the Voting Rights Act, upheld restrictive voter ID laws, allowed mass voter purges and looked away from extreme partisan gerrymandering. It has also unleashed unlimited campaign spending, empowering the wealthy and corporations while diminishing the influence of ordinary Americans.
It has allowed the ultra-wealthy and corporations to spend lavishly on elections, basically purchasing politicians. This court has also encouraged states to pursue the most discriminatory changes to the voting process. All of this amounts to the Roberts Court enhancing the power of corporations and the rich and reducing that of ordinary Americans.
The current John Roberts Court, beginning with his appointment as Chief Justice in 2005, has issued a string of decisions undermining democracy and enabling the visible rise of authoritarianism in our national government.
In Citizens United v. FEC (2010), the Court opened the floodgates to unlimited “dark money” in politics. The majority even wrote: “(W)e now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” Since then, billionaires like Peter Thiel ($15 million to JD Vance in 2022) and Elon Musk ($270 million to Trump in 2024) have poured vast sums into elections, buying influence openly.
In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the court struck down the Act’s requirement that states with histories of discrimination get federal approval before changing election laws. Declaring that “times had changed,” the court ignored ongoing racism in voting. Within 24 hours, Texas enacted a strict voter ID law, and many Republican-led states followed.
In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the court ruled that extreme partisan gerrymandering was a “political question” beyond the reach of federal courts. The case arose from a North Carolina map that an appeals court had already found to be the result of blatant partisan manipulation. By stepping aside, the Roberts Court effectively gave states a free hand to entrench political power through district maps.
Now, Trump has pressured Texas to redraw its congressional districts outside of the traditional 10-year Census cycle, and the Legislature complied – potentially giving him five more Republican seats in the next election. Since 1790, congressional maps have been redrawn only after each Census, making this a serious break with precedent. It also unleashed a volley of states pursuing the same actions, further eroding democratic norms.
California responded with a ballot measure to tilt its map toward Democrats. Ohio, Missouri, Indiana and Florida are considering joining Texas in reshaping districts to favor Republicans. In turn, Democratic-led Illinois, Maryland and New York have begun exploring their own redraws, though New York would require a constitutional amendment.
Following Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the Trump v. United States (2024) decision granted Trump substantial immunity from criminal prosecution for any number of “official acts” while in office. Many of us watched in horror the events of Jan. 6. The illegality of those events was evident to virtually all citizens. Few considered them “official acts.”
The current super majority of very conservative justices has issued several recent opinions that allow for our current president to bypass the constitutional powers of Congress. Appallingly, this includes using the military against citizens.
The current military occupation of Washington, D.C., seems but a trial run for Trump to declare martial law nationwide and thereby not allow elections in November 2026. The crucible test for our nation today is if citizens will stand by and allow this to happen. This super majority of ultra -servative justices appears complicit in the obvious attempt by Trump to end our democratic republic and allow for a president with authoritarian design to rule our nation. Are enough of us paying attention?
Gene Orr, M.Ed., is a retired educator with 43 years of experience teaching social studies and history in middle school, high school and college in Durango. He lives in Kline.
