SAN FRANCISCO – Today the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais, a redistricting case that struck at the heart of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The Court struck down a congressional map redrawn to reflect Black American populations in the state. The decision decimates Section 2 of the VRA, a key legal protection against voting discrimination and unfair redistricting. The Court’s decision also potentially exposes districts representative of communities of color to legal challenge, leaving communities of color without representatives who reflect them or fight for them.
Asian Law Caucus, the nation's first legal and civil rights organization serving Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, released the following statement from Executive Director Aarti Kohli:
“When the Voting Rights Act is undermined, Black voters are harmed first. But the damage won’t stop there. The Supreme Court has gutted one of the last protections we have against racial discrimination in our democracy. It puts the political power of Asian Americans and communities of color at risk.
"Today's 6-3 decision constrains how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be applied in redistricting, making it easier to challenge maps designed to remedy discrimination and harder to protect the political power of communities of color. As Justice Kagan warns in the dissent, this decision renders Section 2 ‘all but a dead letter.’ This is a devastating blow to the core American promise of fair representation.
“We see what this means in practice: communities are unfairly split for partisan gains. A Chinatown carved between three districts. That is how political power is taken — by design, with impunity, and now with the Supreme Court’s blessing. It means communities of color end up represented by politicians who don’t look like them, don’t know them, and don’t have to listen to them.
“The consequences will extend far beyond Louisiana. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the country, and we are growing fastest in the South, where today’s decision gives legislators the most cover to draw us out of political power that our communities are fighting hard to build.
"It leaves communities of color with fewer enforceable protections against unfair maps — and not just for Congress, but in state and local elections across the country. We stand with Black and Brown voters from Louisiana to every state where maps could now be redrawn to limit their voice.
“The same protections that safeguard the voice of Black voters are the same ones that protect Asian Americans, immigrants, and language-minority communities. This decision is not isolated. It is the latest in a sustained assault on the right of communities of color to participate fully in our democracy. We will not let our rights be taken without a fight — in the courts, in our legislatures, and at the ballot box, together.”