A pivotal Supreme Court case is set to address a Republican-led challenge to a fundamental aspect of the Voting Rights Act, aiming to dismantle protections for racial minorities in the redistricting process. This comes more than ten years after the Court invalidated another crucial segment of the historic legislation.
Arguments will be presented by lawyers representing Louisiana and the Trump administration this Wednesday. Their goal is to convince the justices to abolish Louisiana’s second majority Black congressional district, thereby complicating the use of race as a factor in drawing legislative districts.
Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill argued in a Supreme Court brief that “race-based redistricting is fundamentally contrary to our Constitution.”
The challenge is part of a larger nationwide struggle over congressional redistricting that began after former President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states, including Texas, to revise district lines to support a GOP majority in the House of Representatives. A favorable ruling for Louisiana could catalyze similar efforts, affecting state and local districts as well.
The Supreme Court, which recently ended affirmative action in college admissions, may show favor towards this argument. Chief Justice John Roberts, a longstanding critic of the Voting Rights Act, has been pivotal in shaping prior decisions related to race and voting rights.
Roberts expressed his disapproval of race-based legislative considerations in 2006, noting, “It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race.” In 2013, he led the majority opinion that annulled the requirement for states with histories of discrimination to seek federal approval before altering voting laws, stating, “Our country has changed, and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.”
The Current Condition Test
The contested provision of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act mandates the demonstration of existing racially polarized voting and the inability of minority groups to choose their preferred candidates. Sarah Brannon from the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project emphasized that “race is still very much a factor in current voting patterns in the state of Louisiana. It’s true in many places in the country.”
This legal battle escalated after Black voters and civil rights advocates successfully challenged the initial congressional map from Louisiana’s GOP-controlled Legislature following the 2020 census, which only included one Black majority district out of six in a state where one-third of the population is Black. In response, Louisiana adjusted its map after a 5-4 Supreme Court decision in 2023 indicated a potential infringement of the Voting Rights Act in a similar Alabama case.
Roberts, along with Justice Brett Kavanaugh and their more liberal colleagues, opposed a reinterpretation of Section 2 jurisprudence. However, a group of white voters argued that racial considerations outweighed political ones in designing the new Louisiana map, leading to the current Supreme Court case.
Instead of reaching a decision in June, the justices requested additional briefs on whether the creation of a second majority-minority district in Louisiana violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments. These amendments, established post-Civil War, aim to ensure political equality for Black Americans, with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 emerging as a legislative milestone to combat discriminatory voting practices.
A Rare Call for Re-argument
The Supreme Court’s decision to seek further arguments may indicate significant forthcoming changes, reminiscent of the Citizens United case in 2010, which led to substantial increases in independent election spending after a second round of arguments.
Donald Verrilli, a former top Supreme Court lawyer, noted the resemblance to Citizens United, suggesting the potential for a ruling that limits judicial intervention in redistricting absent intentional discrimination. Justice Kavanaugh previously hinted at this possibility two years ago.
With the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision to reject partisan gerrymandering claims, a similar stance on racial discrimination could enhance state legislatures’ freedom in district design, constrained only by state constitutional provisions. A shift in just one vote could change the result of this case.
Following the Supreme Court’s request for new arguments, Louisiana has altered its stance and stopped defending its map. The Trump administration has aligned with Louisiana, diverging from the Justice Department’s past bipartisan support for the Voting Rights Act.
History Repeating for Rep. Cleo Fields
Rep. Cleo Fields, who experienced the elimination of a second Black majority district in the 1990s due to excessive racial reliance, now represents one of the newly established districts in Louisiana. Fields emphasized the importance of the Voting Rights Act and majority-minority districts, stating that without them, election to Congress would be unattainable for Black representatives.
The Supreme Court’s earlier decision to remove federal oversight of potentially discriminatory voting laws has left few avenues to protect racial minorities, making Section 2’s preservation crucial.
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