"The fallout from the Supreme Court gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais is in full swing, as red states are locked in a mad dash to implement new congressional maps that will secure more seats, sacrificing minority voters in nearly every circumstance. Lower courts are equally busy, with legal challenges being brought left and right by both Republicans and Democrats to stymie each other's power grabs and limit the damage in midterm elections that are now just six months away."
"However, last summer, President Donald Trump upended this practice when he urged Texas to redistrict mid-decade in order to net Republicans more congressional seats, an attempt to mitigate Democrats' expected sweep in the 2026 midterm elections. Texas enacted a new map that gave Republicans five new House seats, but California responded with its own tit-for-tat gerrymander which also netted the country's largest Democratic state an additional five Democratic seats. Other Republican-leaning states, including Ohio, Utah, and North Carolina, jumped in to follow suit."
"Then last month, there was another shock to the system. The U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in , and overnight the national redistricting effort leveled up, as states were no longer bound to create districts that prioritized minority voters. Literally within hours Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature passed a new congressional map that would net Republicans four additional seats."
The Supreme Court’s removal of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais has triggered widespread redistricting. Red states are racing to implement new congressional maps designed to secure more seats, often at the expense of minority voters. Lower courts are seeing frequent legal challenges from both Republicans and Democrats aimed at blocking each other’s power grabs and limiting harm ahead of midterm elections in about six months. The usual decennial redistricting cycle has been disrupted by President Trump’s push for Texas to redistrict mid-decade. Texas enacted a map that added five Republican House seats, prompting California to respond with a map that added five Democratic seats. Other Republican-leaning states such as Ohio, Utah, and North Carolina have also moved to redraw maps. After the Supreme Court decision, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a new congressional map that would add four additional Republican seats within hours.
Read at Slate Magazine
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