US Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Congressional Map That Had a Second Majority Minority District

Today, the US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Louisiana put too much emphasis on race in drawing a US House districts map that included a second Majority Minority district. The decision has national implications and is thought to further weaken the Voting Rights Act. Here is the Opinion in Louisiana v Callais, 24-109.

Here is a story from CBS News.

Here is an analysis from Rick Hasen, election law professor and founder of the ElectionLawBlog.

As a result of this decision and some other decisions, we now have a national interpretation that it is constitutional for state legislatures to favor one particular party when they draw districts. Yet it is unconstitutional for legislatures to draw districts to enable racial and ethnic minorities to win a number of seats in proportion to their share of the electorate.

Virginia Supreme Court Refuses to Stay Lower Court Ruling on Redistricting, but Basic Decision is Still Pending

On April 28, the Virginia Supreme Court issued a one-sentence ruling in Koski v Republican National Committee, one of the cases over Virginia’s new U.S. House districts. It denies the state’s request for a stay of the lower court ruling. For now, the state can’t certify the election returns from the election earlier this month. See this story.