Good morning, my name is Abel Vega, and I come as a board member of Texas Impact, and also a United Methodist layperson serving with the Rio Texas Conference as director of Mission Service and Justice Ministries.
The United Methodist Church Social Principles state that we hold governments responsible for the protection of the rights of the people to free and fair elections. The form and the leaders of all governments should be determined by exercise of the right to vote guaranteed to all adult citizens.
The US Supreme Court decision decided by a six to three vote that the congressional maps used in Louisiana are unconstitutional and must be redrawn. This is the final blow to the protections that the Voting Rights Act provided, ensuring that maps considering race helped to correct the historical local and state electoral harms produced by multiple state gerrymandering.
The General Board of Church and Society and the Commission on Religion and Race of the United Methodist Church vehemently oppose the Supreme Court's decision to weaken protection of Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.
After decades of historically protected equitable political representation, the court's decision exposes black, brown, and indigenous communities to renewed disenfranchisement. The political loss of districts and voice from people of color who have been meaningfully represented is a direct threat to fair and equitable democracy. This decision sends an alarming and dangerous message throughout the United States that longstanding patterns of discrimination may be insulated from meaningful accountability. It invites a political world where map drawing and election rules become tools of domination rather than instruments of shared governance.
In practice, millions of black, brown, and indigenous people will have less of a political voice and representation as politicians now have a green light to draw districts that serve themselves instead of representing the entire public, more than ever before. It means elections will be decided before a single vote is cast.
United Methodists are called to stand in solidarity with those most affected by the weakening of the Voting Rights Act. We believe that justice is sacred work. Protecting the voice of every person is not only a civic duty, but a spiritual mandate, including committing ourselves to the ongoing work of dismantling systemic racism in all of its forms.
Our social principles state that we declare that all individuals are entitled to basic human rights and freedoms, and we commit as a church to reform the structures of society to ensure that every human being can thrive. The Voting Rights Act is a testament to the courage of those who marched and prayed and organized for a more just democracy.
The United Methodist Church has been shaped by that same movement. Many United Methodists stood on the front lines of the struggle for civil rights, grounded in the faith that calls us to affirm the dignity and the worth of every person.
So this is not a moment to give into the fear or frustration. We have to encourage and support leaders in Congress who understand the high stakes and that are ready to do what it takes to reclaim power for all the people, even as the Supreme Court acts to strip it away from the most disenfranchised. We can have a stronger democracy with fair representation, but only if people choose to stay engaged and take action and continue to work aggressively for a better system.
Let us tell Congress and state leaders to pursue strong statutory protections for voting rights. Let us push faith leaders to intensify by nonpartisan voter protection education and turnout efforts. Let us vote and encourage others to vote in the 2026 midterm elections for candidates who believe in an equitable voting and representation system, and let us treat this moment as a summons for moral resistance rooted in love of neighbor and a refusal to accept democracy for some and disenfranchisement for others.
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Abel Vega, a board member of Texas Impact, and also a United Methodist layperson serving with the Rio Texas Conference as director of Mission Service and Justice Ministries.
