For the first time ever, the U.S. has been added to a list of “backsliding democracies.” This year’s annual report from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance cites voter suppression in many U.S. states, runaway political polarization and former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights expert has denounced Republican voter suppression efforts, saying partisan gerrymandering and new restrictions on voting are undermining democracy by denying communities of color an equal right to vote. This is Fernand de Varennes, the U.N. special rapporteur on minority issues, speaking Monday. 

Fernand de Varennes: “It is almost a tyranny of the majority, where minorities’ right to vote is being denied in many areas, in many parts of the country, and that this cannot be a positive development. This cannot be consistent with the fundamental values of democracy. And certainly it does not seem to consistent with the United States international human rights obligations.”