The Voting Rights Act is Gone. Our Nation’s Health Will Suffer the Consequences.
Voting connects us with neighbors and helps build trust with institutions, affecting how well and how long we live.
By Avenel Joseph
On the day he sent Congress the Voting Rights Act in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson put it plainly in a national address: “It is wrong — deadly wrong — to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country.”
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Callais v Louisiana eviscerating the Voting Rights Act commits that cardinal sin. It dilutes Black voting power so thoroughly that several congressional and potentially hundreds of state legislative districts currently represented by Black lawmakers risk being redrawn out of existence. But the consequences extend far beyond the voting booth. Participation in the political process directly impacts health. Making our democracy less inclusive puts people’s health in jeopardy and lives at risk.
As a Black woman and an executive with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a national health philanthropy, I see the connection between voting and health in communities across the country. Voting is the foundation of a strong democracy, because it allows people to choose leaders and shape policies that can improve their lives. Voting also helps us connect with neighbors, be part of our communities, and build trust with institutions — all of which affects how well and how long we live.
Under the original Constitution, voting was reserved exclusively for white men who owned property. It took more than 80 years and a civil war for Black men to secure that right, and another 50 years after that for all women to do the same. Yet poll taxes, literacy tests, Jim Crow laws, and other racist policies tried to block that progress. Even today, President Trump and his allies in Congress are pushing the SAVE Act, legislation that would make it far more difficult for millions of Americans to vote.
The Voting Rights Act outlawed insidious barriers to voting and established more protections for minority voters. The number of Black voters and Black representatives increased significantly as a result. Yet under the Supreme Court’s ruling, it is now exceedingly difficult to challenge or fix racially discriminatory congressional maps. In a year where both parties have engaged to an unprecedented degree in gerrymandering — drawing voting maps that prioritize political advantage over fair representation — multiple states are now moving swiftly to carve up majority-minority voting districts, with the Supreme Court’s ongoing help.
The health ramifications will be severe. To borrow President Johnson’s words, it can indeed be deadly to deny the right to vote. States with more restrictive voting practices tend to have worse health outcomes. When democracies are weakened, life expectancy can suffer and the prevalence of chronic disease can increase.
By contrast, states where voting is more accessible report better mental health, fewer uninsured residents, and lower infant mortality. Ballot measures designed to improve health — such as expanding Medicaid and protecting access to abortion — often pass with strong bipartisan support. Other, related forms of active civic participation, such as volunteering and advocacy, are all associated with better physical and mental health.
Groups like the American Medical Association formally recognize the link between voting and health. RWJF does so by proudly supporting organizations working to increase voter participation and protect people’s rights to enact policy change through ballot initiatives, along with efforts to safeguard vote counting and certification. We believe that more voting and fairer representation are good things, and that voters deserve a safe and secure election system. They are all important for our health.
Policymakers and state and local election officials should respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling by making registering and voting simple and secure. That could include expanding early voting windows, implementing automatic voter registration, requiring notification when people are removed from voter rolls, and protecting access to absentee ballots used especially by veterans and people with disabilities. Officials should also consider ideas like proportional representation to ensure more voters have their voices heard.
And with the midterm elections just a few months away, individuals in every community should check to ensure they are registered to vote and register if they are not, make a plan to vote, and help friends and neighbors do the same. Growing up, I remember my parents making it a point to vote in every election, no matter how busy they were, and taking me to the polls with them. As a young Black girl, their example taught me why we should never take voting for granted. It’s a lesson I’m passing down to my young children as well.
In a true democracy, voters choose their leaders, not the other way around. Our nation has not always honored that principle, and the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act is a devastating setback. But the fight for a better and fairer America continues. Our health and our lives depend on it.
Avenel Joseph is vice president for policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.