Supreme Court Rules Louisiana Redistricting Map Unconstitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on April 29, 2026, in the case Callais v. Landry, formerly known as Louisiana v. Callais, finding that a Louisiana congressional map with two majority-Black districts constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito for the majority, stated that the map violated the Equal Protection Clause by using race as the predominant factor in district design. " The decision upheld the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act but determined that the specific redistricting effort in Louisiana improperly prioritized race over other criteria.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurrence, stating that "the Constitution's colorblind rule" should guide redistricting and expressing his view that judicial enforcement of Voting Rights Act provisions requiring consideration of race in districting is inconsistent with equal protection principles.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote a dissent, arguing that the majority's approach "turns Section 2 into a mirage" and undermines protections against vote dilution for minority groups.

Former President Barack Obama said in a statement, according to ABC News, that the decision "effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act" and urged that "this setback can be overcome if Americans continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers."

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a statement to The Hill that the ruling represents "an attack on a crown jewel of our democracy."

Louisiana's population is approximately one-third Black, according to census data referenced in court filings. In 2022, state lawmakers approved a redistricting plan with one majority-Black district out of six. Civil rights groups challenged this under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, leading a federal district court to order a revised map with a second majority-Black district, which the state enacted before the Supreme Court's review.

No public statements from Louisiana state officials on the ruling are documented in available reports as of April 30, 2026.

Separately, Australia's human rights commissioner Lorraine Finlay said in comments to The Guardian that the alleged six-year jailing of a Chinese student by Chinese authorities for participating in pro-democracy protests in Sydney "underscores the very real and growing risks of transnational repression affecting people in Australia, including international students." Finlay added that "no one should fear punishment abroad for exercising their lawful rights to free expression and peaceful protest in Australia."

According to a Wired report, the Trump administration removed more than two dozen experienced lawyers from the Department of Justice's Voting Section between 2017 and 2021, which is tasked with enforcing the Voting Rights Act.

In another case, the Supreme Court heard arguments on April 28, 2026, in a lawsuit by Falun Gong practitioners against Cisco Systems, with justices appearing skeptical of claims that the company aided Chinese government repression through technology sales, as reported by The New York Times.