How the 120th Congress Can Crush the Gerrymandered Maps

Key Points:

• The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais limits the Voting Rights Act by allowing Southern states to eliminate majority-minority congressional districts, threatening Black representation in Congress and potentially costing Democrats six House seats.
• Several Southern states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee, have already taken or are considering actions to redraw districts to reduce or eliminate Black political representation following the Callais decision.
• Virginia's state Supreme Court invalidated a recent constitutional amendment aimed at enabling a partisan gerrymander favoring Democrats due to a procedural technicality related to the timing of early voting, delaying the amendment's effect until at least 2028.
• These legal developments undermine multiracial democracy and popular sovereignty, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the next Congress and prompting proposals for Congress to use its constitutional power to judge the qualifications and elections of its members to potentially reject delegations from states violating voting rights protections.
• The author warns of a looming legitimacy crisis in American democracy, urging Democrats to prepare for a contentious battle over seating Congress and to defend Black political rights, even if it risks a constitutional confrontation reminiscent of Reconstruction-era disputes.