SCOTUS strikes down La. map, limits use of race in redistricting 59%
By OAN Staff Jenna Lee0%
4/29/2026, 8:58:37 AM
Topics: Supreme Court Rulings, Voting Rights
BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Framing Effect, and Unattributed Quote, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 32.7% saturation with 193 hits. Analysis detected 968 faulty-reasoning hits from 590 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 55.2% and a BS Rank of 59% (9,103 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 58.40% of the article peer group.
In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court’s majority ruled that Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The High Court held that the state’s use of race as the predominant factor in drawing the map — specifically in creating a second majority-Black district — could not be justified by the need to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, since Section 2 did not require Louisiana to create that additional majority-minority district.
The contested map, which featured two majority-Black districts and four majority-White districts out of Louisiana’s six congressional districts, remained in place for the 2024 elections due to a prior emergency stay issued by SCOTUS.
The final judgment affirms the lower court’s ruling and strikes down the map for all future elections.
Louisiana will therefore need to redraw its congressional map for subsequent cycles.
The Court’s opinion emphasizes strict scrutiny for race-based redistricting and signals a significant limitation on how states may consider racial demographics when drawing districts, even when attempting to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
It prioritizes traditional Equal Protection principles over broader interpretations that would treat Section 2 compliance as a compelling interest sufficient to justify predominant use of race.
Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, arguing that the decision renders Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act largely ineffective in redistricting cases.
“Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the state’s use of race in creating SB8,” wrote Alito, in reference to the map.
“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander, and its use would violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”
The Voting Rights Act’s protections have been important for minority voters and voting rights groups seeking to challenge redistricting plans that they claim are racially discriminatory.
Under the new SCOTUS ruling, minority voters and voting rights groups will have significantly more difficulty successfully challenging voting maps under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The Court’s decision also has implications stretching well beyond political representation in Louisiana.
Gov.
Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) later described the ruling as a rollback for minority groups’ “voting rights.”
“The Supreme Court majority continues to gut the Voting Rights Act and vital protections for our democracy and fair representation,” Newsom wrote on X.
States may now move to redraw their congressional maps in light of the ruling, but they have limited time to do so for the 2026 elections, as primaries are already approaching in many states ahead of midterm elections.
In Louisiana, the congressional primary is scheduled for May 16th.
Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill welcomed the decision as “seismic” and noted that the White House also celebrated the ruling.
“I vigorously defended our first map and said then that the only way to draw a second majority-minority district was to expressly take race into account,” said Murrill in a statement.
“It is gratifying that the Supreme Court has finally vindicated our original position and, in doing so, clarified that only under very narrow circumstances—where there is proof of intentional discrimination—may race be used as a remedy under Section 2.”
“The color of one’s skin should not dictate which congressional district you belong in,” added Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, in a statement.
“We commend the court for putting an end to the unconstitutional abuse of the Voting Rights Act and protecting civil rights.”
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