WASHINGTON – The conservative-majority Supreme Court will consider Wednesday whether to strike down a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act in a Louisiana congressional redistricting case.
The justices, who expanded the scope of the case over the summer, will hear oral arguments on whether states can ever consider race when drawing new districts as they seek to comply with Section 2 of the 1965 law, which was enacted against a backdrop of historic racial discrimination to protect minority voters.
The long-running dispute concerns the congressional map that Louisiana had to redraw last year after being sued under the Voting Rights Act to ensure there were two majority-black districts. The original map had only one such district in a state where one-third of the population is black.
The Supreme Court originally heard the case earlier this year on a more limited set of legal issues, but in a rare move, in June asked the parties to discuss it again. The court then upped the ante by asking lawyers to focus on a broader constitutional question.
Now, the justices will decide whether drawing a map to ensure there are majority-black districts violates the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, both enacted after the Civil War to guarantee equal rights to former slaves, including the right to vote.
Conservatives maintain that both constitutional amendments prohibit consideration of race at any time. The Supreme Court has previously adopted this “colorblind” interpretation of the Constitution, most notably in its 2023 ruling that ended consideration of race in college admissions.
Louisiana, which initially defended its new map, switched sides and joined a group of self-identified “non-Black” voters who sued to block it on constitutional grounds. The Trump administration also supports the state’s new position.
The map is being defended by civil rights groups who questioned the original map.
The Voting Rights Act has long been the target of conservative legal attacks, and the Supreme Court weakened it in two major rulings in 2013 and 2021.
But two years ago, the court surprisingly reaffirmed the requirement that race be used to redraw districts when necessary to comply with the law in a congressional redistricting case other than Alabama’s.
The ruling was 5-4, with two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joining the court’s three liberals to form the majority. Kavanaugh, however, expressed reservations about the long-term future of Section 2.
A broad ruling in favor of Louisiana would reduce the need for states to draw legislative districts made up largely of minority groups and would likely lead to a reduction in the number of minority legislators in Congress and state legislatures.
A quick ruling could give Louisiana and other states time to draw new districts before the 2026 midterm elections. Since Black voters tend to vote Democratic, such a move could benefit Republicans.
