Racial gerrymandering was never actually required by the Voting Rights Act — courts and bureaucrats invented that mandate out of thin air. Section 2 bans discriminatory voting practices, not equal political outcomes, and the Constitution's 14th and 15th Amendments explicitly forbid using race as the dominant factor in drawing maps. Ending race-based districts doesn't gut voting rights; it restores them to their original, colorblind purpose.
The Supreme Court just handed Republicans a generational weapon to strip Black voters of meaningful representation across the South. By demanding proof of intentional discrimination — a standard Congress explicitly rejected in 1982 — the 6-3 ruling guts Section 2 without technically striking it down, making it nearly impossible to challenge racially discriminatory maps. Analysts project the decision could flip up to 19 majority-minority seats away from Democrats.
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 7.4.1