The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that dismantled some of the final guardrails protecting minority voting power that had been enshrined in the Voting Rights Act since 1965 — clearing the way for state officials to dramatically reshape congressional maps, state legislatures, county commissions, city councils and even local school boards across the entire country.
The decision all but nullifies a provision called Section 2 that required states to draw electoral maps giving minority voters the opportunity to elect their chosen candidates — and the fallout is already hitting statehouses from Georgia to North Dakota. One ruling. Nine justices. Five votes. And an election map that will never look the same again.
