00:00The Supreme Court handed down an extremely consequential decision that will almost
00:03certainly impact November's midterms in favor of Republicans. It struck down Louisiana's
00:09congressional map, which had two majority Black districts. The court concluded that the inclusion
00:13of that second district, as ordered by a federal judge in 2024, was unconstitutional.
00:18That decision by the highest court effectively weakens the Voting Rights Act, which, in a 6-3
00:23ruling, the justices said Louisiana's map violated. Section 2 of that law prohibits
00:28voting discrimination based on race. The court's ruling didn't exactly strike down that provision
00:33entirely, but it makes it more difficult for states, especially in the South, to draw districts
00:38with predominantly Black voters. So what does this ruling mean going forward, and could it impact
00:43November's midterms? I asked The Post's White House reporter, Ellie Gooden, for her thoughts on what
00:48the impact of this decision means. Republicans see a lot of hope and opportunity here because they do
00:54believe in the redistricting process, they will have a chance to get rid of some of these minority
01:00majority districts. And these are the districts that are drawn to favor Black voters, Latino voters,
01:07some of the underrepresented groups. And the Supreme Court basically cast doubt on the ability to do that.
01:13So in the long run, remember, districts are traditionally redrawn after every census.
01:20Republicans really see that they can build something here to keep control of the House.
01:25For this year's midterm election, it's a big question mark because time is running out. A lot of
01:32the southern states where this would really affect the congressional maps have already set their primaries.
01:38The filing deadlines are gone. The ballots are being printed, like some states are voting this month and
01:44next month. Now, Louisiana will probably have to redraw its map since it was the actual state that
01:50had its map thrown out. But Republicans see opportunities in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi,
01:56South Carolina. But like Mississippi and South Carolina, those filing deadlines are gone. Like the
02:02ballots are set. So the ability to do something in time for November is really being called into question.
02:11But I think you could see some people try. There's some Republicans who are encouraging
02:16states to go to court to get aggressive on this, to try to redraw everything.
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