Supreme Court Rules on Louisiana’s Congressional Map
The Supreme Court made a surprising decision on Wednesday regarding Louisiana’s congressional map, which was designed to benefit black voters.
This case, Louisiana vs. Curry, involved challenges from voters concerning congressional districts that were reshaped following the 2020 Census. The Court rejected the map, deeming it an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander” that could not be defended under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Justice Samuel Alito authored the majority opinion, supported by five conservative justices. Dissenting opinions came from Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, while Justice Clarence Thomas, along with Justice Neil Gorsuch, provided a concurring opinion.
The Supreme Court stated that “the time has come” for a definitive interpretation of Voting Rights Act case law assumptions held for the last thirty years.
The court’s opinion emphasized that since the Voting Rights Act did not mandate Louisiana to create majority-minority districts, there was no strong justification for considering race during the mapping process, labeling it unconstitutional.
In his concurring opinion, Justice Thomas asserted that the prevailing assumptions regarding Voting Rights Act case law over the last three decades are misguided. He suggested this has led to a “systematic fragmentation” in both Congress and the judicial system. He criticized the idea of redistricting the nation along racial lines, stating that such an approach is contrary to any nation striving for a color-blind constitution.
Thomas also declared that “Article II challenges to redistricting should never prevail.”
The Court’s liberal justices expressed concern about the ruling’s implications for Article II, warning that “the consequences are likely to be far-reaching and significant.” They claimed the decision diminishes Article II’s significance.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon celebrated the ruling, sharing on social media that the decision was anticipated and an important milestone in voting rights law, perhaps one of the most significant in decades.
