The US Supreme Court on Monday 29 April ruled 6–3 in Louisiana v Callais that Louisiana's current congressional map violates the Constitution. Voting rights experts say the decision effectively eviscerates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and clears the way for states to revive discriminatory voting maps and laws across the country.
Section 2 has for six decades been the central legal tool used to challenge racial discrimination in elections, from how districts are drawn to how ballots are cast and counted. It was the provision civil rights groups turned to after the 1965 Voting Rights Act dismantled Jim Crow-era barriers and helped Black voters in the South gain access to political power. Congress has renewed it repeatedly, with broad bipartisan support, most recently in 2006.
