October 3, 2022
Tomorrow the supreme court is hearing a case that could seriously change the way we vote by potentially gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Again.
And no – I’m not talking about the controversial Moore v Harper case. I’m talking about the other one that hasn’t gotten as much attention but is just as important — the Merrill v Milligan case.
This case is out of Alabama and challenges the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In this one, Alabama lawmakers redrew a congressional district map after the 2020 Census. That map included only *one* majority-Black district even though Black Alabamians make up over a quarter of the state population. Now according to our founding fathers, we all know — representation should be based on population and should be proportional. And then there’s section two of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which bans state and local governments from limiting voting rights on the basis of race. That means states and local governments are not allowed to draw new congressional maps that could dilute the vote by either intentionally splitting communities of color up amongst several districts or lumping them all into one.
Because of that new map Black voters and advocacy groups sued the state of Alabama alleging race-based gerrymandering and saying the new map diluted Black political power. In January a panel of federal judges –which was dominated by Trump appointees — threw out the Alabama map saying it was illegal and directed the Alabama state legislature to draw a new map. Alabama argues that ruling would amount to creating “racially segregated” districts and they say that violates the constitution. And in February the Supreme Court overruled those judges in a 5-4 vote and said Alabama *could* still use that voting map while the case continued to play out. That means the map is being used in November’s midterm election and the case is really about whether that map can continue to be used until the next census in 2030. Depending on their ruling, the justices could deliver a major blow to the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Merrill v Milligan tomorrow. You can listen to it live on the Supreme Court’s website. A ruling likely won’t come down until June.
