After rehearing a challenge to Louisiana redistricting, the Supreme Court suggested it may overturn Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, which protects voters of color. Section two remains one of the few parts of the Voting Rights Act that the Court has not diluted.
Following the Civil War, Congress ratified the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to grant and protect certain rights for newly freed slaves. These rights included citizenship and voting; however, many minorities were still prevented from enjoying the same liberties as their white counterparts. Practices like poll taxes, white-only primaries, literacy tests and grandfather clauses disenfranchised Black and minority voters. It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 24th Amendment that the liberties promised after the Civil War were fully realized.
Since Chief Justice John Roberts’ appointment, many VRA provisions have been ruled unconstitutional. Most prominently, in Shelby County v. Holder, the court struck down parts of the VRA, requiring states and counties with historic discrimination to “preclear” new voting policies with the Department of Justice. If the DOJ found a new practice was discriminatory, it would prevent the law’s passage.
VRA’s Section Two stops states and political parties from enforcing policies that deny the right to vote based on race. Specifically, it prevents practices that decrease an election’s openness and opportunities to participate in politics because of race. Section Two is one of the few remaining strongholds in the VRA the Court has historically protected.
Right now, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is disputing a lawsuit that alleges that Louisiana’s redistricting maps are racially discriminatory. The suit’s history began in 2022 when the Louisiana legislature apportioned its one-third Black population into one of its five congressional districts. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, ordered Louisiana to redraw its map since the original violated Section Two of the VRA. The new map allows Black voters to elect two congressional representatives. Again, the map was promptly challenged by a group identifying as “non-Black voters” for allegedly using race to draw it. The case has been brought to the Supreme Court as “Louisiana v. Callais.”
The current lawsuit asks the Supreme Court whether “Louisiana’s creation of a second majority-Black district that was required by the Voting Rights Act is still a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment,” questioning the constitutionality of the VRA’s second section.
In 2023, the Court reaffirmed Section Two when it ordered Alabama to redraw its congressional map. The old map was found to dilute minority votes. In his majority opinion, Roberts stated, “Congress is undoubtedly aware of our construing section 2 to apply to districting challenges. It can change that if it likes. But until and unless it does, statutory stare decisis counsels our staying the course.”
However, on Oct. 15, when rehearing Callais, the Court’s conservative majority cast doubt on the Alabama decision. “[The Alabama case] took precedent as a given,” Roberts said.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who also previously ruled to uphold Section Two, weighed in.
“[This] Court’s cases in a variety of contexts have said that race-based remedies are permissible for a period of time,” Kavanaugh began. “[What] exactly do you think the endpoint should be or how would we know for the intentional use of race to create districts?” Kavanaugh’s reasoning mirrors when the court ruled affirmative action unconstitutional.
Many organizations have expressed that overruling VRA Section Two could be disastrous for civil rights. In an online post, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund explained, “[The] outcome in this case will reverberate through redistricting law nationwide and will determine the future of the Voting Rights Act, with key protections hanging in the balance.”
Alanah Odoms, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, also issued a statement.
“[States] could carve up Black and brown communities like puzzle pieces until our votes no longer matter. Weakening Section 2 would open the door to rampant racial gerrymandering and take us back to a pre-1965 America.”
The Supreme Court will likely not release a decision for several months to a year. Either way, the case will greatly impact the future of voting and civil rights law. Readers can stay up to date on the final ruling at paisano-online.com.
