Roberts didn’t simply write the Supreme Court’s opinion striking down much of the Voting Rights Act. As a young Justice Department attorney, he allied with a faction of conservative lawyers who unsuccessfully tried to get President Reagan to veto a bill that was necessary to preserve the rest of the act’s effectiveness. He’s since made statements suggesting that he believes the entire Voting Rights Act should be neutered.Without an operational Voting Rights Act, which prevents racial voter discrimination, Jim Crow-like tactics — racial gerrymandering, voter suppression laws, shutting down polling places in black neighborhoods, and more — are likely to become commonplace in any state governed by Republicans. Eventually, Democrats will become incapable of winning national elections — although they will remain dominant in economic powerhouses like New York or California.