A POLITICO/Public First survey conducted May 9–11 finds a plurality of Democrats say their party should respond to Republican redistricting efforts even if it results in fewer majority-minority districts. The results come weeks after the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which narrowed how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be used in redistricting disputes.
A new POLITICO/Public First poll of 2,065 U.S. adults, conducted May 9–11, found Democrats’ views on redistricting shift sharply depending on how the question is framed.
When asked in the context of recent Republican redistricting efforts and the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a 45% plurality of Democrats said Democratic leaders should counter GOP moves “even if it means reducing the number of majority-minority districts,” according to POLITICO’s reporting.
But when respondents were asked the question without that broader context, Democrats were more likely to prioritize maintaining districts designed to protect the political power of Black and other minority voters. In that version, 54% of 2024 Kamala Harris voters said preserving those majority-minority districts was the higher priority.
The polling was published as both parties brace for a new round of state-by-state redistricting battles after Callais, a ruling that legal analysts say tightened standards around Section 2 vote-dilution claims and made it harder to justify race-conscious map-drawing under federal law.
