Michael Li: The Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act. Here’s How to Fix It.
The ruling shifts Section 2 from results to intent and makes plaintiffs prove an alternative map that matches a state’s partisan goals.
- On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that the state's congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, restricting the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 provision that creates majority-minority districts.
- While the 1982 amendment to Section 2 established a 'results' test for determining liability, the 6-3 conservative majority has increasingly prioritized 'intent' in recent rulings, including 2021's Brnovich v. DNC and 2013's Shelby County v. Holder.
- The Court's decision eliminates one of Louisiana's two majority-Black districts, requiring plaintiffs to demonstrate that maps are driven by racial considerations rather than permissible nonracial factors to establish Section 2 liability.
- Across the South, advocacy groups warn the ruling could jeopardize Democratic seats in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina, amid confusion regarding Louisiana's May 16 primaries.
- Critics describe the decision as a 'devastating blow' to civil rights, prompting calls for 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices to restore judicial balance.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Michael Li: The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Here’s how to fix it.
In a seismic ruling this week that could roll back six decades of civil rights progress, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted much of what remained of the Voting Rights Act. This is an existential moment for fair representation and American democracy — and Congress must act. When Texan Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965, there were only five Black members in the U.S. House, none of them from the South, and just four Latino …
Stephen L. Carter: There’s a bigger debate behind the voting rights case
I agree with those who think the Supreme Court made a mistake in narrowing the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. But rather than join in the ritual and perhaps overheated condemnation of the decision in Louisiana…
The Baltimore Sun: Why the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling matters
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, has struck down Louisiana’s newly created majority-Black congressional district, narrowing the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The ruling is consequential not only for Louisiana but for how…
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