Supreme Court Eviscerates The Voting Rights Act

The Supreme Court dealt the landmark Voting Rights Act a significant blow on Wednesday in a 6-3 ruling that leaves the historic law "all but a dead letter," according to Justice Elena Kagan.

In invalidating a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander, the decision in Louisiana v. Callais, written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by the court's other five conservatives, states that plaintiffs must now show that "intentional discrimination" led to the decision to not draw a minority legislative district. This makes it effectively impossible for a Voting Rights Act challenge to win in court without a clear showing of racial animus and will nullify the law's impact.