Voting Rights โขAct Faces Critical Test at Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, Feb 21 – The landmark โVoting Rights Act of 1965 is confronting a possibly fatal challenge at the Supreme Court, as justicesโข hear arguments in Allen v. โMilligan concerning Alabama’s congressional map. The case centers on whether Alabama’s mapโ unlawfully diminishes the voting power of Black residents, and the outcome could substantiallyโค weaken a key provision โคof the voting rights law used to combat racial discrimination.
The dispute revolves around Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or โprocedures that result in a denial โor abridgement of theโ right of anyโ citizen to โขvote onโ account of race or color. At issueโค is whether Alabama’s map, drawn after the 2020 census, violates this provision by failing to create โa second congressional district where Black voters would have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidate. Aโข ruling against Alabamaโ couldโ force the state to redraw its map and potentially open the door to similar challenges in othre Southernโฃ states, impacting the balance โฃof power in Congress.
The case arrives amid growing concerns about voting access and fairness,especially following a 2013 โฃSupreme โCourt decision (Shelby County v. โHolder) that struck downโค a key preclearance formula inโ the Voting Rightsโ Act. That ruling removed federal โฃoversight of election lawsโข in states with a history of discrimination, a change โคcritics argue has led โฃto a resurgence of restrictive voting practices. โ
Plaintiffsโฃ argueโ that Alabama’s map packs Black voters into a single district, diluting their influence in surrounding districts. Thay point to the state’s demographicsโ – roughly 27% of alabama’s population is Black – and โcontend thatโฃ two majority-Blackโฃ districts are reasonably achievable. “The state of Alabama has consistently refused to recognise the political โขpower of its โBlack citizens,” said Evan Milligan,the lead plaintiff in the case,in a statement.
Alabama defends its map, arguing it complies with conventional redistricting principlesโ and that creating a second โขmajority-Black district would require unconstitutional โฃracial gerrymandering. Solicitor General โEdmund LaCour Jr. told the court that โtheโข plaintiffs’ proposed map would โฃ”sort voters by race” and that the Voting Rights Act does not require states to maximize the number of majority-minority districts.
Legal experts predict a closely divided court, with the outcome potentially hinging on the views of Justiceโค Brett Kavanaugh. A โdecision is expected by late June. If โฃthe Court sides with โAlabama, it could significantly narrow the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, making it more arduous to challenge discriminatory voting maps โin the โfuture. Conversely, a ruling โคin favor of โขthe plaintiffs would reaffirm the importance of protecting minority voting rights and could trigger aโข wave ofโ redistricting litigation across the South.