Supreme Court Allows Defense in Partisan Gerrymandering Voting Rights Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Louisiana v. Callais that permits states to cite partisan gerrymandering as a justification for maps that reduce majority-Black districts. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, stated that plaintiffs must provide strong evidence of intentional racial targeting.

The ruling discards a previous requirement that mapmakers consider whether minority voters are numerous and concentrated enough to form their own district. Alito's opinion noted that even if a state could have drawn a map favoring minority voters but did not, it can defend by admitting to partisan gerrymandering.

Following the decision, Republican-led governments in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama stated intentions to redraw U.S. House district maps. South Carolina's legislature may follow suit. These efforts aim to protect GOP majorities in Congress by prioritizing partisan considerations.

The ruling builds on the Court's history with the Voting Rights Act. In a 2007 affirmative action case, Roberts wrote that stopping racial discrimination requires ceasing race-based discrimination. Alito's opinion referenced social changes in the South that have reduced entrenched racial discrimination.

Common Cause, Roberts wrote that excessive partisanship in districting seems unjust but is a political question. Law professor Richard L. Hasen explained that states can now defend maps by admitting partisan motives. Scholar Joshua A. Douglas stated that partisan gerrymandering has become a defense to racial discrimination claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Political scientist Julia Azari noted that discussions of race are viewed as impolite in a color-blindness framework. Political scientist Jake Grumbach wrote that controlling for partisanship in racial gerrymandering assessments erases the mechanism through which racism operates.

The decision continues the Court's pattern of limiting the Voting Rights Act, as seen in prior cases. Adam Serwer wrote that early advocates for color-blindness included reinvented segregationists. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg compared abandoning Voting Rights Act protections due to reduced discrimination to throwing away an umbrella in a storm because one is not yet wet.

Black voters in the South tend to support Democrats, a pattern tied to party stances on civil rights. Common Cause (The Atlantic) The ruling may strengthen the link between race and partisanship, as redrawn maps could diminish Black voter influence in some areas.

Roberts's 2019 opinion emphasized judicial restraint in political matters, yet the Court has intervened in Voting Rights Act cases.