TODAY: Supreme Clash — Race vs. Constitution

US Constitution We the People with feather quill — US CONSTITUTION

Louisiana is asking the Supreme Court to dismantle the Voting Rights Act itself, marking an unprecedented assault on constitutional voting protections that could devastate minority representation nationwide.

Story Highlights

Louisiana is urging the Supreme Court to strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The state argues that compliance with VRA violates the Equal Protection Clause by forcing race-based redistricting.
Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on a case that could eliminate the primary tool against vote dilution.
The decision would affect redistricting in multiple states and potentially reduce minority representation in Congress.

Louisiana’s Constitutional Challenge Strategy

Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a 58-page brief arguing that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act forces states to violate the federal Constitution by sorting voters based on race. Louisiana contends this creates an “untenable standard” where states face constitutional violations regardless of their choices.

The state refuses to defend its own congressional map containing two majority-Black districts, instead aligning with challengers who oppose race-conscious redistricting.

Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga presents oral arguments today, stating the state has made these constitutional arguments for years but federal courts refused to hear them.

The state drew a second majority-Black district in February 2024 under court order but explicitly did so “reluctantly” and “under protest,” emphasizing it “wants out of this abhorrent system of racial discrimination.”

Unprecedented Legal Reversal

This case represents a dramatic departure from typical voting rights litigation, where states defend their maps against civil rights challenges. Louisiana has effectively switched sides, now arguing that compliance with the Voting Rights Act itself constitutes unconstitutional discrimination.

The dispute originated when Black voters challenged Louisiana’s 2022 congressional map containing only one majority-Black district despite nearly one-third of the state’s population being Black.

The Supreme Court took the unusual step of ordering reargument for the 2025-26 term, specifically directing parties to address whether Louisiana’s intentional creation of a second majority-Black district violates the 14th or 15th Amendments.

This follows the Court’s controversial use of its “shadow docket” to reinstate Louisiana’s congressional map without explanation, with all three liberal justices dissenting.

National Impact on Voting Rights

If successful, Louisiana’s challenge would represent the most significant rollback of civil rights protections since the Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision gutted Section 5 of the VRA.

Legal scholars warn that striking down race-conscious redistricting frameworks would “pave the way for fewer majority-minority districts not only in Louisiana but across the nation.” This would fundamentally alter congressional representation, state legislatures, and local governments throughout the country.

The ruling could affect redistricting in numerous states that created majority-minority districts to comply with Section 2, potentially requiring redrawing of congressional and legislative maps nationwide.

John Bisognano of the National Redistricting Foundation warned overturning recent precedent would constitute a “head-spinning reversal” given the Court’s 2023 Allen v. Milligan decision upholding similar VRA protections.