Democratic-aligned voting rights organizations are bracing for what they describe as a potential crisis if the U.S. Supreme Court moves to weaken a central provision of the Voting Rights Act, one of the nation’s cornerstone civil rights laws.
The concern centers on Louisiana v. Callais, a case the justices are set to rehear on October 15. The outcome could determine the future of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits redistricting plans that dilute the voting power of racial minorities.
Two prominent voting rights groups have warned that striking down or narrowing Section 2 would allow Republican-controlled legislatures to redraw as many as 19 congressional districts in their favor,