At a time when control of the House of Representatives has come down to just a few seats, it’s a good time to reexamine the Voting Rights Act case pending before the Supreme Court. How the justices rule will have meaningful consequences for future House elections — especially close ones like this year’s. And most importantly, the court’s decision could reverse decades of progress on racial representation.
The case, Merrill v. Milligan, comes out of Alabama — precisely the kind of Deep South state that Congress had in mind when it passed the VRA in 1965. Under Section 2 of the law, a state can’t draw districts to intentionally dilute the power of Black votes and thus deny racial minorities an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
After the 2020 census, the Republican-controlled Alabama legislature drew new maps that slightly redistricted its seven House seats. Alabama is 27% Black. Only one of the Congressional districts is majority Black.
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