Supreme Court Hears Case on Racial Gerrymandering & Voting Rights

C-SPAN: The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais, which examined if Louisiana’s creation of a second majority-Black congressional district violated the 14th or 15th amendments. In 2022, Louisiana’s legislature passed a map which contained just one majority-Black district. A lawsuit followed, and a federal court ruled the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. As a result, the legislature in 2024 drew a new map, this time including a second majority-Black district. A group of “non-Black voters” sued, and a different federal court ruled in their favor, holding that race impermissibly predominated in the creation of the second district. The Supreme Court heard arguments in 2025, but didn’t issue a ruling. Instead, the Court directed the parties to address the constitutionality of a second Black-majority district. Louisiana originally defended its map but later argued that any racial classifications were unconstitutional.