Federalbrief
Dec 27, 2025

Supreme Court Appears Poised to Weaken Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to tighten the reins on how federal courts enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, potentially shielding state lawmakers from challenges that conflate race and partisanship in redistricting.

The looming decision is so significant that two well-known voting rights groups have warned that eliminating or limiting Section 2 would allow Republican-controlled legislatures to redraw up to 19 congressional districts in their favor.

During an interview on “Fox & Friends,” attorney Mehek Cooke told host Kevin Corke that she believes the Supreme Court is giving President Donald Trump a “road map” for navigating certain cases that could have a major impact on his agenda.

During re-arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a conservative majority signaled openness to an approach backed by the Trump Justice Department, which could make it tougher for plaintiffs to win claims of racial vote dilution in regions where voting patterns align closely with party lines—a hallmark of modern Southern politics.

The case stems from Louisiana’s 2022 congressional map, which a federal district court deemed likely in violation of Section 2 for concentrating Black voters, who make up about a third of the state’s population, into just one majority-Black district out of six.

In response, lawmakers in 2024 adopted a remedial plan creating a second such district. But white voters sued, alleging the fix amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, and a district judge sided with them.

Initially argued in March, the case returned after the justices ordered fresh briefs on Section 2’s constitutionality.

Over the summer, Louisiana flipped its stance, now urging the Court to curb or eliminate race-conscious districting. Black voters who initiated the original challenge defended the remedial map, arguing it corrects proven dilution of minority voting power.

Conservative justices showed reluctance to invalidate Section 2 entirely, a provision enacted in 1965 and strengthened in 1982 to bar practices denying minorities equal electoral opportunity.

Instead, they honed in on a narrower theory from Principal Deputy Solicitor General Hashim Mooppan, representing the Trump administration.

Citing the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause ruling that barred federal courts from policing partisan gerrymandering, Mooppan argued states could defend maps by invoking legitimate partisan aims—even if those overlap with racial demographics.

This would allow mapmakers to prioritize Republican advantages, for instance, without running afoul of Section 2, as long as the intent isn’t purely racial.

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