U.S. criticised for denying voting rights of minorities

The UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues said the legislation in some parts of the United States has restricted the voting rights of people of visible minority groups, denouncing it as "a tyranny of the majority," according to a recent Al Jazeera report, reported Xinhua.

"It is becoming unfortunately apparent that it is almost a tyranny of the majority where the minority right to vote is being denied in many areas, in parts of the country," said Fernand de Varennes on the final day of his two-week visit to the United States.

De Varennes made the remarks as the United States was included for the first time on a list of "backsliding" democracies. Several U.S. states were criticized for passing legislation that set barricades for minorities to vote.

Take Texas, for instance. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas that it infringed on federal voting and civil rights laws "over certain restrictive voting procedures," which is known as SB1.

The SB1 was written into Texas's state law in September, with the alleged function of helping combat voter fraud, but civil rights groups and other observers considered the legislation as a way to make it harder for Democratic-leaning minorities to cast ballots.

Texas was also sued this month over congressional redistricting maps that critics said were "diluting the voting power of communities of color" while giving white voters political influence that outweighs their share of the state's population.