Supreme Court rejects South Carolina racial gerrymandering challenge in Alexander

The Supreme Court rules in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP on May 23, 2024, that challengers did not prove South Carolina lawmakers used race as the dominant reason for drawing a congressional district. The majority says courts must carefully distinguish race from party when evaluating redistricting claims. Justice Elena Kagan dissents, arguing that the decision stacks the deck against racial gerrymandering plaintiffs. The ruling makes some racial gerrymandering claims harder to prove when lawmakers can describe their goals as partisan rather than racial.