The Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, limiting how states may use race to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s congressional map with two majority-Black districts, issuing a 6-3 ruling that narrows the reach of the Voting Rights Act in redistricting disputes.
The court’s conservative majority upheld a lower court decision that found Louisiana lawmakers relied too heavily on race when they redrew the state’s congressional boundaries to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said compliance with that provision did not justify the state’s use of race in drawing its House district lines.
“Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the state’s use of race in creating SB8,” Alito wrote, referring to the map. “That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander, and its use would violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”
The decision carries consequences beyond Louisiana because Section 2 has been a central tool for voters and civil rights groups challenging maps they say dilute minority voting strength. The majority altered the framework courts use to evaluate vote-dilution claims, saying Section 2 imposes liability only when evidence supports a strong inference that a state intentionally drew districts to give minority voters less opportunity because of race.
Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kagan wrote that the majority “eviscerates” Section 2 and warned that, under the court’s approach, the law is “all but dead-letter.” She said plaintiffs would now have to show racially discriminatory motive by lawmakers, a burden she described as “well-nigh impossible.”
The ruling lands months before the November midterm elections. Candidates have already filed to run in Louisiana’s six congressional districts, and party primaries are scheduled for May 16, with early voting beginning Saturday. The source report said the window for state Republicans to mount a late redrawing effort appears to have run out, though the next steps for a compliant map remain unsettled.
The legal fight began after Louisiana adopted a post-2020 Census map with five majority-White districts and one majority-Black district, despite Black residents making up nearly one-third of the state’s population. African-American voters sued, arguing the plan diluted Black voting power. A federal judge ordered the state to enact a remedial map with a second majority-minority district, which lawmakers adopted in 2024.
That replacement map was later challenged by 12 self-described “non-African-American” voters, who argued it was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. A divided three-judge panel agreed, and the Supreme Court has now let that conclusion stand.
Reaction split quickly along partisan lines. The White House called the decision a “complete and total victory” for voters, while the NAACP, which represented plaintiffs defending the two majority-minority districts, called it a devastating blow to the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she would work with the governor and legislature on guidance for a map that complies with the Constitution.
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