ALABAMA — The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that weakens a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion that section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 does not require states to draw majority-minority congressional districts.

The court ruled that Louisiana's congressional maps violated the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, writing that the decision effectively eviscerates the Voting Rights Act.

The ruling follows the 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan, which held that Alabama's congressional map illegally diluted Black voting power. That decision reaffirmed section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and compelled Alabama to draw a second opportunity district. Shomari Figures won election to the newly drawn second congressional district seat in 2024, the first time in modern Alabama history that two Black representatives served together in the state's congressional delegation. Black Alabamians make up about 28% of the state's population.

Figures said the ruling threatens the core purpose of the law. "At the end of the day, the Voting Rights Act is about fairness. It's about having the opportunity to elect members of Congress of your choice, and not have the district lines drawn in a way that inhibits the ability of a significant racial group to have an impact in the outcome of an election," said Shomari Figures, U.S. Representative for Alabama's second congressional district. He added: "The civil rights movement came with an insurance plan. It was called the right to vote. It did not come with a supplemental insurance plan to protect the right and choose not to use it."

Terri Sewell, U.S. Representative for Alabama's seventh congressional district, said the ruling's reach extends beyond federal maps to state legislatures, county commissions, city councils and school boards. Sewell's district was redrawn under the Voting Rights Act to provide Black Alabamians a voice in federal representation. "People in my home town fought, braved, died, marched for the right of all Americans to vote," she said. "It's pretty frightening to think that on our collective watch, we're going backwards and not forwards."

Alabama's January deadline to qualify as a major party candidate for the May 19 primary prevented changes to congressional maps before the 2026 midterm elections. Sewell said she plans to work with stakeholders to strengthen the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and shore up federal voting protections weakened by the court's ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.