The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a series of recent orders allowing Louisiana and Alabama to redraw congressional maps that eliminate Black opportunity districts. The rulings came in the Louisiana v. Callais case and related Alabama litigation. They mark a sharp shift in the court's approach to voting rights enforcement under the Voting Rights Act.
In the past two weeks the court agreed to issue its final judgment quickly in Callais. This move leapfrogged the normal rehearing period and gave Louisiana the green light to cancel its ongoing primary and schedule a new House primary using a map without a second Black opportunity district. The facts in Callais mirrored those in the 2023 Allen v. Milligan decision, yet the new interpretation effectively makes future Section 2 claims by minority plaintiffs nearly impossible to win.
