On Sept. 3, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief in a case involving white plaintiffs who claim that Louisiana’s current redistricting plan — which was created to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and has two majority-Black congressional districts — is a racial gerrymander that discriminates against them.
The SPLC’s brief comes in response to the Supreme Court’s unusual request for supplemental briefing and reargument on whether Louisiana’s intentional creation of a second majority-Black congressional district violates the 14th or 15th amendments, which bestow equal rights and the right to vote for all U.S. citizens.
The SPLC’s brief makes three things clear: (1) Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is firmly rooted in Congress’ 14th and 15th Amendment powers; (2) it is carefully constrained by safeguards like the Gingles framework and proportionality provisions, legal standards used to determine whether a minority group’s votes are being diluted; and (3) eliminating Section 2 would open the floodgates to racially discriminatory redistricting, denying Black voters across the South any chance at meaningful representation.
Read the SPLC’s amicus brief here.
