Recommendations of the Editorial team
The Supreme Court dealt another blow to voting rights on Wednesday: The justices ruled that a Louisiana congressional map drawn to protect minority voters constituted an unconstitutional form of racial gerrymandering. The map was drawn in accordance with a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The ruling fell 6-3 along ideological lines – the six conservative justices voted against the state’s congressional map. The decision limits permissible interpretations of Section 2, the provision of the landmark civil rights law that prevents states from using districting to discriminate against voters based on race.
In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Section 2 creates liability “only when the evidence supports a strong inference that the state intentionally tailored its electoral districts to give minority voters fewer opportunities based on their race” and that a “reasonable” reading of the law “does not interfere with the right of states to draw electoral districts on the basis of non-racial factors, including to achieve partisan advantage.”
Kagan’s devastating minority vote
Justice Elena Kagan wrote the minority opinion, writing that the majority’s decision renders Section 2 “virtually a dead letter.”
“Under the court’s new reading, a state can systematically dilute the voting power of minority citizens without fear of legal consequences,” Kagan added. “With no basis in the language of Section 2 or the Constitution, the majority imposes new evidentiary requirements for plaintiffs alleging vote dilution. These requirements, intended to ‘decouple race from politics,’ exploit two features of modern political life: that racial identity and party preference are often linked, and that politicians have free rein to tailor partisan constituencies.”
It is still unclear what immediate impact the decision will have beyond Louisiana – the state will have to redraw its congressional map. But the ruling could tempt Republicans to redraw constituencies with predominantly non-white populations.
NAACP speaks of treason
“Today’s decision is a devastating blow to what remains of the Voting Rights Act and a license for corrupt politicians to manipulate the system by silencing entire communities,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson wrote in a statement. “The Supreme Court has betrayed Black voters, it has betrayed America, and it has betrayed our democracy. This ruling is a massive setback for our country and threatens to undo the hard-fought victories we fought, bled and died for.”
This is a breaking news article that is being updated.
