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Supreme Court Requires Strong Evidence Race Predominated in Gerrymandering Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Louisiana v. Callais last week that enables states to use partisan gerrymandering as a defense against racial discrimination claims under the Voting Rights Act. Republican-led governments in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama announced plans to redraw congressional maps this week.
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The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Louisiana v. Callais last week holding that plaintiffs bringing racial-gerrymandering claims must prove that race, not partisanship, was the predominant factor motivating the drawing of legislative maps. Justice Samuel Alito authored the majority opinion.
The ruling requires plaintiffs to provide strong evidence that minority voters were intentionally targeted because of their race. The decision discards any requirement that mapmakers must first consider whether minority voters were numerous and concentrated enough to constitute their own district.
Republican-led governments in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama announced plans to redraw maps this week in response to the ruling. South Carolina’s legislature may redraw maps as well.
Seven years ago the Supreme Court heard a case on partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that federal courts have no role in policing partisan gerrymandering because it is a political question. Roberts also wrote that the conclusion does not condone excessive partisan gerrymandering.
In a 2007 case, Roberts articulated that the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg likened abandoning parts of the Voting Rights Act because of reduced discrimination to throwing away one’s umbrella during a storm because one isn’t yet wet.
North Carolina lawmakers redrew a map after lower courts found it was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act. The state said the redraw was intended to reduce Democratic representation, not Black representation.
The Supreme Court paused a lower-court ruling and temporarily restored nationwide access to the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing it to be prescribed via telemedicine and mailed to patients while legal challenges continue. This interim order maintains access during ongoing litigation, affecting patients across all states.
