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12h ago

Supreme Court Orders Supplemental Briefing in Louisiana Voting Rights Case

The court will hear arguments on whether Section 2–compliant mapmaking that adds a second majority-Black district breaches constitutional voting protections.

A view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 17, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Overview

  • The justices set deadlines for new filings: Louisiana and Black voting rights intervenors by August 27, non-African American plaintiffs by September 17 and reply briefs by October 3.
  • The supplemental briefing focuses on whether creating a second majority-Black congressional district to comply with the Voting Rights Act violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments’ race‐based restrictions.
  • The dispute originated with a 2022 ruling that Louisiana’s single majority-Black district diluted minority voting power, leading the legislature to adopt a 2024 map featuring two such districts.
  • Non-African American voters led by Phillip Callais challenge the 2024 map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander despite its aim to remedy a Section 2 violation.
  • A 6-3 conservative majority on the Court, known for a colorblind constitutional view, could use the ruling to redefine the permissible scope of race-conscious redistricting nationwide.