On June 27, the Supreme Court issued one of the most consequential voting rights decisions in a generation, ruling that excessive partisan gerrymandering did not violate the Constitution.

Several Democrats running for president quickly criticized the decision in statements. But that night, as 10 of the candidates squared off in Miami for the second of the races initial debates, neither the moderators nor the candidates brought up the decision. The only mention of the topic came from Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who said, We need to end gerrymandering in Washington. We need to end political gerrymandering in Washington.

History repeated itself this week during two nights of debate among the Democrats in Detroit. Any number of voting rights questions would have been relevant especially given the locale. Last fall, Michigan voters used the ballot referendum process to create an independent redistricting commission and passed significant voting reforms . Activists see that success as a model for voting reforms moving forward. But on the day of the first debate night, Republicans filed a federal lawsuit to block the commission .

CNNs Jake Tapper might have asked: How can Democrats limit excessive partisan gerrymandering in light of the recent Supreme Court decision. Or, do you think President Barack Obama bears blame for not doing enough to stem massive GOP gains in state legislative races in 2010 , which enable Republicans to draw district lines for this decade that tilted the political field heavily crtics say unfairly in their favor?

But he didnt. Neither did CNN colleagues Dana Bash or Don Lemon . Over the two nights, the debate moderators didnt ask a single question about gerrymandering or voting rights.

The omission is not new. In the plethora of presidential debates during the 2016 campaign cycle, not a single question was asked about restrictions on voting rights, according to The Nation .