Conservative SCOTUS justices appear skeptical about race-based redistricting

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Louisiana v. Callais.

The outcome of the case, which centers on the creation of a second black-majority congressional district in the Bayou State, may not only impact the Voting Rights Act and states’ corresponding ability to undertake race-based gerrymandering, but the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives as well.

Conservative justices on the high court — including Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted in 2023 to uphold the relevant VRA provision in a similar case pertaining to Alabama’s map but who warned that “the authority to conduct race-based redistricting cannot extend indefinitely into the future” — appear skeptical over the continued use of race in redistricting.

Background

Section 2 of the VRA, which the Supreme Court indicated

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