"In a brief, unsigned order on Monday, the high court announced it is sending cases about Mississippi and North Dakota state legislative maps back to lower courts to be reconsidered in light of its recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. That landmark decision in April weakened the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in redistricting and as a result reignited the congressional gerrymandering battle sparked by President Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm election to help Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives."
"What's known as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has been mainly enforced as a result of lawsuits by voters and advocacy groups, who have brought hundreds of challenges to maps of voting districts and other election-related procedures. But in the Mississippi and North Dakota redistricting cases, Republican officials have raised a novel argument that private individuals and groups do not have a right to sue under Section 2, and only the U.S. attorney general does."
"Such an interpretation would lead to far fewer Section 2 lawsuits, legal experts say. The Supreme Court's decision not to take up the question of what the legal world refers to as a "private right of action" under Section 2 drew pushback from liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. In dissents from Monday's order, Jackson pointed out the high court's ruling in the Callais case did not address the legal question of Section 2's enforceability by private individuals and groups."
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order sending cases about Mississippi and North Dakota state legislative maps back to lower courts. The lower courts must reconsider the cases in light of the Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. The Callais decision weakened protections in the Voting Rights Act against racial discrimination in redistricting, renewing congressional gerrymandering disputes. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has largely been enforced through lawsuits brought by voters and advocacy groups. In the Mississippi and North Dakota cases, Republican officials argued that private individuals and groups cannot sue under Section 2 and that only the U.S. attorney general can. The Supreme Court did not decide whether Section 2 includes a private right of action, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, noting Callais did not resolve that enforceability question.
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