00:00The Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map Wednesday,
00:04finding the Pelican state unconstitutionally added a second majority black house district
00:08in a major decision with implications for future elections.
00:12Louisiana had been forced by lower courts to create a second majority black district in 2024
00:17to comply with Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act or VRA,
00:22which restricts states from diluting minority votes.
00:25The Trump administration and state officials challenged the new map,
00:28arguing it was a racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment,
00:33which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law.
00:36The High Court agreed with all six conservative justices voting to get rid of the 2024 boundaries.
00:42However, the majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito stopped short of finding Section 2 of the VRA
00:48unconstitutional, as many activists had feared.
00:51If these were white Democrats, there's no reason to think they would have a second district, none.
00:56Principal Deputy Solicitor General Hashim Moupon told the court during oral arguments this past October.
01:02And so what is happening here is, their argument is, because these Democrats happen to be black,
01:08they get a second district. If they were all white, we all agree they wouldn't get the same.
01:13Roughly one-third of Louisiana residents are African American and the state's only two
01:17Democratic lawmakers in Congress, compared to four House Republicans, were elected from the majority black
01:22districts. The justices initially took up the Louisiana map case during the 2024-25 term,
01:29but in a rare move ordered both sides to restate their arguments to consider both the 14th and 15th
01:35amendments, the latter of which stipulates that states cannot deny citizens equal protection under
01:39the law nor abridge their rights on the basis of race. That was widely interpreted as a signal that
01:45the Supreme Court was gearing up to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. However, Alito wrote that
01:51compliance with Section 2, as properly construed, can provide such a reason for race-based redistricting.
01:57Correctly understood, Section 2 does not impose liability at odds with the Constitution and it should
02:02not have imposed liability on Louisiana for its 2022 map. According to one analysis from Democratic voting
02:09groups, Fair Fight Action and the Black Voters Matter Fund, Republican officials could now redraw 19
02:14congressional districts in the South and Midwest to be significantly more favorable to the GOP as a
02:20direct result of Tuesday's ruling. However, it's not clear if red states will be able to seize on the
02:25Supreme Court's decision in time to significantly impact the 2026 midterms, in which Democrats are favored to
02:31retake the House of Representatives.
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