United States of America - April 2026

On 29 April, the Supreme Court ruled that a congressional map designed to create a second majority-Black district in Louisiana constituted unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The majority held that the state had relied too heavily on race in drawing district boundaries and that compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act did not justify such race-conscious redistricting under the Equal Protection Clause. Section 2 establishes the prohibition of racial discrimination in voting practices or procedures.  The decision substantially narrows how Section 2 can be applied. As a result, challenging redistricting decisions will now require plaintiffs to prove intentional racial discrimination, an extremely high burden. In dissent, the Court’s minority warned that the decision ‘renders Section 2 all but a dead letter,’ highlighting concerns about reduced protections for minority voters.

Sources: Supreme Court of the United States, The Guardian, ABC News, NPR, Governor of Louisiana