The Supreme Court Is Poised to Trigger an Earthquake in American Politics

"The future of voting rights protection is squarely on the line at the Supreme Court in the term that opens in four weeks. Louisiana v. Callais is nominally a long-standing dispute over the drawing of that state's six congressional districts. In reality, it may be the vehicle by which the Roberts court's conservative supermajority will end what is left of the storied Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is the best possible vehicle for challenges to racial discrimination in voting practices."

"The justices heard the case last March, but instead of deciding it, they set it for reargument this coming term. In early August, the court issued a troubling order asking the parties to specifically brief the argument that Louisiana's compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in fact unconstitutional under a view of the Constitution that demands complete colorblindness."

"On this week's Amicus Plus, Dahlia Lithwick spoke with professor Richard Hasen, the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law, professor of political science (by courtesy), and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, about the pathway to this moment and the stakes for voting rights if the court kills the VRA this term. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity."

The Supreme Court term opening in weeks places voting rights protections at acute risk. Louisiana v. Callais, while framed as a dispute over drawing six congressional districts, could serve as the vehicle for dismantling remaining protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The justices heard the case last March and later set it for reargument after requesting specific briefing on whether Section 2 is unconstitutional under a doctrine of complete colorblindness. Louisiana has since adopted the position that Section 2 is unconstitutional, leaving voting-rights groups to defend the statute alone and raising high stakes for future voting access.

Read at Slate Magazine