WASHINGTON, D.C., October 25, 2021 – Today the Senate voted 48–43 to confirm Myrna Pérez to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. An exceptionally experienced litigator and one of the nation’s foremost experts on voting rights who has spent her career working to ensure that every American can have an equal voice in our elections, Pérez exemplifies the kind of professional and demographic diversity needed on the federal bench.
Pérez has led all aspects of complex litigation, serving as counsel in at least 54 cases across the country, including at the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal circuit courts of appeal. She has spent the majority of her career litigating and advocating for voting rights and fair elections at the Brennan Center’s Voting Rights and Election Program. This has included successfully fighting to have 14,000 mostly Latinx Floridians added back to the voting rolls and challenging a Texas voter ID law that was intended to discriminate against African-American and Latinx voters. She has also led extensive research on wait times at polling locations for Black and Latinx Americans, how Election Day resources are disproportionately allocated, and the discriminatory effect of voter ID laws.
Given Judge José Cabranes’s recent announcement that he is taking senior status, Pérez will soon be the only Latinx judge serving on the Second Circuit.
Alliance for Justice President Rakim Brooks issued the following statement:
“Judge Myrna Pérez exemplifies everything we could hope for in a federal judge: extensive legal experience, professional and demographic diversity, and a deep commitment to equal justice. And her confirmation could not be more timely. States across the country are passing draconian voter suppression laws primarily targeting people of color, and just last week Senate Republicans completely blocked efforts to pass desperately needed voting rights legislation. More than ever, we need judges who understand the importance of fair elections and access to the polls. Judge Pérez is that judge. Her depth of knowledge and commitment to our democracy will be crucial in the months and years ahead. It is a credit to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand who recommended her, and President Biden who nominated her, that judges of her caliber continue to be confirmed.”