Supreme Court takes up GOP-led challenge to Voting Rights Act that could affect control of Congress

"The Supreme Court is taking up a major Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement, that could gut a key provision of the law that prohibits racial discrimination in redistricting. The justices on Wednesday are hearing arguments for the second time in a case over Louisiana's congressional map, which has two majority Black districts."

"A ruling for the state could open the door for legislatures to redraw congressional maps across the South, potentially boosting Republican electoral prospects by eliminating majority Black and Latino seats that tend to favor Democrats. A mid-decade battle over congressional redistricting already is playing out across the nation, after President Donald Trump began urging Texas and other Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines to make it easier for the GOP to hold its narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives."

"The court's conservative majority has been skeptical of considerations of race, most recently ending affirmative action in college admissions. Twelve years ago, the court took a sledgehammer to another pillar of the landmark voting law that required states with a history of racial discrimination to get approval in advance from the Justice Department or federal judges before making election-related changes."

The Supreme Court is hearing a Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act that targets protections against racial discrimination in redistricting. The case concerns Louisiana's congressional map, which contains two majority-Black districts, and is being argued for the second time. A ruling for the state could allow legislatures across the South to redraw maps, potentially eliminating majority Black and Latino seats that tend to favor Democrats and boosting Republican prospects. The conservative Court has shown skepticism toward race-conscious policies, recently ending affirmative action and previously weakening preclearance requirements. Weakening Section 2 could permit extreme partisan gerrymandering.

Read at ABC7 Los Angeles