The United States has been purported to be a multi-racial democracy. It’s a dream that’s never been realized despite our overuse of the word “freedom.” With the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, state legislatures will be able to pass extremely gerrymandered maps under the guise that partisan gerrymandering is perfectly legal, so legislators can disenfranchise so long as it is against a political party.
The secondary effect is that since an overwhelming majority of Black voters vote Democrat so legislators will be shutting Black people from the halls of power and real representation in Congress. Legislators will draw maps against Democrats and because the racist intent can’t be explicitly proven, cases have no chance in court.
Overview of Louisiana v. Callais
Racism lives deep within our institutions and governments. Since the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court decision, the Black v. white turnout gap in voting has been growing especially in southern states. One of the remedies to discriminatory laws, practices, and even violence is the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Public Law 89–110, the VRA). The effects of the Louisiana v. Callais decision render the enforcement powers in section 2 42 U.S.C. § 1973 (the section dealing with any denial or abridgement of right to vote on account of race) of the VRA essentially null. This was one of the few remaining effective pieces of that landmark civil rights legislation.
Unequal systems from corrosive money in our politics
In U.S. society, racism and classism weave a pernicious and violent fabric that holds our system together. We see this from the disproportionate share of Black people in our prisons to children going hungry because Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is such a paltry sum.
In U.S. society, racism and classism weave a pernicious and violent fabric that holds our system together.
Money regularly impedes policy change that can lead us to equity and justice. This is evidenced by the median U.S. Senate race costing $11 million and the most expensive spent $180 million—this flood of money comes with conditions. Nowhere is that clearer than in the United States Congress and the federal courts. This deluge of campaign money widens the gap between the wealthy and the working class from a rift to a chasm. Judges are divorced from reality and lawmakers are disconnected from their constituents’ lived experience. A niche business tax credit gets outsized attention and a commuting, single mother in Newark, NJ is left to figure out childcare on her own.
It’s become more pronounced since the Citizens United decision. With special interests and wealth being so concentrated, money has sought influence not only in Congress but on our highest court. The largest political donation ($1.6 billion) benefitted the President’s “court whisperer” responsible for recommending three of his Supreme Court nominees.
This dynamic of the powerful colluding to ensure the status quo became apparent late one evening in February 2016. That evening the Senate Majority Leader made clear his intent to wait almost a year before allowing a Supreme Court nominee to even be considered in the United States Senate. The halls of power from our courts to our members of Congress are increasingly characterized by both wealth and whiteness. The most vulnerable are never to be seen unless they need enforcement through prosecution or incarceration.
Discriminatory Maps
Louisiana v. Callais is a decision that took decades of political and legal advocacy. In the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause case the Supreme Court decided that partisan gerrymandering was illegal. Current Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, while serving two Presidents in the 1980’s and 1990’s advocated in memos that the protections of the VRA were no longer warranted. State legislators will “crack” districts resulting in spreading a voting block across multiple districts, making them into a minority in many districts instead of a majority in one. Black representatives with a wealth of education, professional knowledge, and lived experience may lose their seats in Congress and state legislatures nationwide.
Those who’ve experienced the worst of our society have the understanding of the solutions to get us to true equity and justice. We must pass comprehensive legislation like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S.2523) to correct wrongs like the corrosive effects of money in politics, gerrymandering, and other discriminatory voting laws.
