Overview
- The justices heard reargument in mid-October on whether Section 2 permits race-conscious districting to remedy vote dilution in Louisiana v. Callais.
- Lower courts had found dilution in Louisiana’s prior map and ordered a plan creating a second majority-Black district, which white plaintiffs challenged as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
- Conservative justices pressed for constraints, with Brett Kavanaugh asking about an endpoint for race-based remedies and John Roberts questioning how Allen v. Milligan applies, as Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch voiced skepticism of race as a classification.
- The Department of Justice under the Trump administration urged limits on Section 2 in filings, while some rural Western communities long subject to VRA enforcement view potential curbs as a relief.
- Advocates and analysts warn that narrowing Section 2 could reduce minority-opportunity seats and shift partisan balance—citing estimates of up to roughly 19 House seats and sizable Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucus losses—though the outcome remains uncertain.