Supreme Court narrows Section 2 in Louisiana v. Callais; new map eliminating majority-Black district enacted

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana's previous congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and, in a 6–3 decision, severely limited the use of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to require the creation of majority-minority districts. Legal experts described the ruling as weakening a central enforcement tool that had been used for decades to combat racial vote dilution after the 2013 Shelby County decision gutted preclearance. The Court's new framework narrows the circumstances under which plaintiffs can prove a Section 2 violation, making future challenges to discriminatory maps far more difficult.

Louisiana Republicans wasted no time in capitalizing on the decision. On May 29, 2026, the legislature passed a new congressional map that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts. The enacted map is expected to elect five Republicans and one Democrat, diluting Black voting power that had been protected by the Voting Rights Act. This action makes Louisiana the latest Southern state to reduce minority-opportunity districts following the Court's ruling. The harm is measurable and directly contradicts the original purpose of the VRA.

Defenders of voting rights should respond with strategic urgency. Congress should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act with a restored preclearance formula to counteract the weakened Section 2. State-level litigation under state equal protection clauses — which may offer stronger protections — and the establishment of independent redistricting commissions can help insulate map-drawing from partisan and racial gerrymandering. The Department of Justice must also bring every available challenge under the remaining Section 2 framework, limited though it now is.