The Supreme Court Might Net Republicans 19 Congressional Seats in One Fell Swoop

[Nevilledog]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/10/supreme-court-republicans-congress-trump-voting-rights-act.html

No paywall link
https://archive.li/cpKl4


On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will take the extraordinary step of rehearing Louisiana v. Callais, a case that could effectively eliminate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the nation’s central safeguard against racially discriminatory redistricting.

By taking the unusual step of reopening arguments, legal experts believe, the court’s far-right majority may have telegraphed its intent to dismantle Section 2. If it falls, the impact will reverberate far beyond Louisiana, reshaping political power across the entire country.

Combined with Donald Trump and Republicans’ ongoing gerrymandering power grab, gutting Section 2 could help secure an additional 27 safe GOP U.S. House seats—at least 19 directly tied to the loss of Section 2. According to a new analysis from Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund, it’s enough to cement one-party control of the House for at least a generation.

Louisiana v. Callais began with a simple act of compliance. After a federal court found that the state’s congressional map violated the VRA by weakening Black voters’ power, Louisiana’s Republican Legislature was ordered to draw a second majority-Black district.

The reason was clear: Although Black residents make up roughly a third of Louisiana’s population, they had been given a fair chance to elect a representative of their choice in just one of six congressional districts.

When lawmakers finally followed the court’s order to fix their discriminatory map, they were promptly sued again—this time by a group of non-Black voters who claimed that preventing proven discrimination was itself racial discrimination.

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