The U.S. Supreme Court on May 18 ordered lower courts to reconsider rulings in two redistricting cases that examine whether private individuals may sue to enforce a federal law banning discriminatory voting practices. The cases, from Mississippi and North Dakota, were sent back in light of a recent landmark ruling that curbs the use of race in redistricting.
On April 29, the Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that race may not be the predominant factor for how congressional district lines are drawn. That case centered on Louisiana's addition of a majority-black district after a lower court found its omission would violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from both of Monday's rulings. The two cases — State Board of Election Commissioners v. Mississippi State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and an unnamed North Dakota case — will now be reexamined by lower courts.
The decisions could reshape how voting rights lawsuits are brought. If lower courts restrict private enforcement of Section 2, the Justice Department may become the primary avenue for challenging discriminatory maps, shifting the balance of voting rights litigation.
Critics argue the Court is eroding a key tool for combating racial discrimination in elections. The rulings underscore a deepening divide over how race may factor into redistricting, with implications for future congressional maps nationwide.