Source: Fox News
Summary
Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Supreme Court should go further in its latest Voting Rights Act ruling, stating that the law’s key anti-discrimination provision should not apply to redistricting cases. Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, made this statement in a concurrence to the court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which upheld a finding that a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The decision narrowed section two of the Voting Rights Act, restricting states’ ability to use race as a factor when drawing majority-minority districts.
Our Reading
As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
Justice Thomas reiterates his long-held view that section two of the Voting Rights Act should not be used in redistricting cases. The conservative justice has consistently advocated for gutting this provision. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, stopped short of Thomas’ position. The liberal justices argued in a dissent that the decision strips protections against diluting racial minorities’ votes.
The process has entered a familiar phase: Justice Thomas quotes himself from a 1994 concurrence, while the liberal justices warn that the decision renders Section 2 “all but dead letter.”
Author: Evan Null
