The Supreme Court may very well upend one of the last remaining central pieces of the Voting Rights Act – that elections or voting practices cannot discriminate based on race.
And, in doing so, the high court may bolster efforts by Republican state legislatures to redraw congressional maps to expand the party’s majority.
The justices’ ruling could actually crush minority representation in Congress.
According to two voting rights groups, Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund, a ruling gutting the race provision would let the GOP nationwide redraw up to 19 House seats to favor the party.
It could also prevent Black voters from challenging political maps they believe don’t accurately represent them.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais.
Arguments lasted for more than two hours in an unusually lengthy, complicated debate.
It stems from a complex congressional redrawing dispute starting in 2022.
Louisiana’s GOP-led legislature drew a map that only had one Black majority district and five mostly white districts, despite Louisiana’s population being one-third Black. So, a group of Black voters sued.
A federal judge struck the map down and ordered a redraw. Instead of letting the judge redraw it, Louisiana Republicans passed the current map that added a second Black majority district (but protected districts of key Republicans in the state, like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise).
Hellbound and Down 