Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that second Black-majority district is unconstitutional racial gerrymander

The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais on April 29, 2026, striking down Louisiana's second majority-Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Samuel Alito writes for the majority that the state relied too heavily on race when drawing the district in response to a federal court order, finding that "simply pointing to inter-party racial polarization proves nothing" because states may engage in constitutional partisan gerrymandering. Justice Clarence Thomas concurs but writes he would go further and hold that Section 2 has no role in redistricting at all. The three liberal justices dissent sharply, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the ruling leaves Section 2 "nearly unenforceable." Legal scholars describe the decision as the most significant blow to the Voting Rights Act since Shelby County v. Holder in 2013.