The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to strike down race-based redistricting, filing a brief ahead of October arguments in Louisiana v. Callais. The case concerns Louisiana’s creation of a second Black-majority congressional district, which the DOJ argues is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
In its filing, the department also called for the Court to overturn Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), the precedent guiding how courts evaluate racial vote-dilution claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. “Too often, Section 2 is deployed as a form of electoral race-based affirmative action,” the DOJ brief said, contending the framework has been misused for political rather than racial concerns.
Louisiana’s original congressional map created a 5-1 split favoring Republicans, with one Black-majority district. A lawsuit under Section 2 led to a new map with two Black-majority districts, resulting in a 4-2 partisan split. That map is now being challenged as unconstitutional.
The Court, which begins its term October 6, will hear rearguments October 15. The decision could reshape how states across the South draw districts and significantly narrow Section 2’s role in redistricting.
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