US Supreme Court Limits Race-Based Voting Maps in Louisiana Case
The US Supreme Court has limited how lawmakers can use race when drawing voting maps.
A Major Supreme Court Decision
The 6-3 decision could reshape politics across the American south. The conservative justices sided with a challenge to new districts in Louisiana. Those districts were created to comply with a landmark Civil Rights law. That law protects black Americans from racial discrimination.
The Majority Said
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the court’s majority opinion. He said previous interpretations of the Voting Rights Act forced states “to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids”.A group of mainly white voters brought the challenge. They argued that relying on race to create districts violates the US Constitution. They also suggested that part of the Voting Rights Act should be found unconstitutional entirely. The court majority did not go that far.
Harder to Challenge Maps
The decision will make it harder to challenge legislative maps. Those maps often dilute the voting power of racial minorities. To prove a violation, litigants must now show that legislators intentionally drew the maps to provide less opportunity.Justice Elena Kagan wrote a dissenting opinion. “The court’s decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity,” she said.The fight over voting maps has grown fierce. Democrats and Republicans seek to carve out districts that could help them win congressional majorities.
