WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling on April 29, 2026, removing the Voting Rights Act's requirement that congressional districts be drawn to give minority voters a chance to elect representatives of their choosing. The decision struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana.

The ruling came after filing deadlines for this year's primary elections had passed in several states. In some states, primary ballots had already been finalized, and early and absentee voting had begun. Louisiana's primary election for federal offices is scheduled for May 16, 2026, with early voting set to begin Saturday. Louisiana's governor, attorney general and legislative leaders met to discuss how the state would respond to the ruling.

The Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, after Governor Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session to adopt a map that could give his party four new winnable House seats. Florida is the only Republican-controlled state with a relatively clear path to gaining seats from the decision in time for the midterm elections.

In Tennessee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, called for redrawing the state's congressional map to replace its lone majority-Black Democratic congressional seat with one more winnable for Republicans. Tennessee's deadline for candidates to get on the ballot was March 10, 2026. More than a dozen majority-minority districts that reliably vote Democratic exist in Republican-controlled states.

"The Voting Rights Act as a means to protect minority voters from vote dilution is essentially dead. It's hard to imagine how this decision does not lead to additional GOP districts into the future," Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist and court-appointed special master, said. He said the Voting Rights Act's most frequent use comes in local nonpartisan races for offices such as school board or city council.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder criticized the decision in a statement. "It should not be lost on anyone that the Roberts court makes this decision at a time when Republican leaders across the country are foaming at the mouth to draw the American people out of a meaningful say in our elections. They want to retain illegitimately obtained power through the use of, among other things, now Supreme Court-sanctioned racial and partisan gerrymandering," Holder said.