Why the Supreme Court's voting rights ruling could play a big role at the local level

"There are active legal fights over at least 17 voting maps or election systems for state and local governments that are now reckoning with the court's ruling, an NPR analysis of federal court records has found. In the weeks since the high court released its landmark decision in Louisiana v. Callais, many lawyers in these lawsuits have been working on briefs about how they think the ruling's reinterpretation of the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 provisions in redistricting should be applied."

"The focus of Section 2, the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority ruled, should now be intentional racial discrimination, a legal standard that's notoriously difficult to prove in court. Many legal experts see this change as a threat to representation of racial minorities and an incentive for more partisan gerrymandering at all levels of government including state legislatures, county commissions and school districts."

"So far, the high court's decision has spelled the end for at least one fight over state legislative districts. Last week, North Carolina state Rep. Rodney Pierce, a Democrat, agreed to drop the lawsuit he and another Black voter brought in 2023 to challenge the state's Senate map. Pierce said the Supreme Court's ruling has effectively made the Voting Rights Act "a meaningless law with no teeth.""

Republican-led Southern states are redrawing congressional maps after the Supreme Court weakened Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination. Federal court records show active legal fights over at least 17 voting maps or election systems for state and local governments. Lawyers are preparing briefs on how the Court’s reinterpretation of Section 2 should apply to redistricting. Section 2 now requires intentional racial discrimination, a standard that is difficult to prove. Legal experts warn this change threatens representation of racial minorities and may encourage more partisan gerrymandering across government levels, including state legislatures, county commissions, and school districts. At least one state legislative dispute has ended, with a North Carolina Democrat dropping a lawsuit challenging the Senate map after the ruling made the Voting Rights Act ineffective.

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