Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act. King Charles comes to Washington. Trump comes for Comey and Kimmel.
The Supreme Court Guts The Voting Rights Act
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court released its long anticipated ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which challenged the constitutionality of Louisiana’s second Black majority congressional district. In its 6-3 ruling, the Court severely limited Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA,) declaring the drawing of that district—and by extension all majority-Black districts similarly drawn to help ensure minority representation in Congress—constitutes ”an unconstitutional gerrymander.” Justice Kagan, writing in dissent and joined by her two liberal colleagues, said that while the majority claimed it was merely seeking to “update our Section 2 law, as though through a few technical tweaks,” the reality is “those ‘updates’ eviscerate the law…Today’s decision renders Section 2 all but a dead letter.”
In response to the ruling, some Southern states have already pledged to redraw their maps ahead of the November midterms. Louisiana’s Republican Governor immediately announced a postponement of his state’s May 16 primaries to July so that the state’s maps could be redrawn. Tennessee appears to be on board as well, though its proposed redistricting would net Republicans just one seat. Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp refused to expedite a redistricting in time for November but pledged to do so ahead of the 2028 elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefrries vowed Democrats would “fight back,” floating the idea that blue states such as Maryland, Colorado, New York and Illinois would respond in kind ahead of 2028. New York Governor Kathy Hochul sounded a defiant tone, warning, “The Supreme Court has been chipping away at our elections for years. It is clearly carrying out Donald Trump’s will with this decision.” Hochul added, “New York has always led the fight for voting rights and we’ll lead again.”
