Professor Jason Mazzone recently spoke to the Alabama Reflector regarding an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to the parties in a Louisiana redistricting case. The Court asked parties to submit briefs on whether majority-minority congressional districts violate the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Experts say the Court may be considering invalidating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which forbids election laws that discriminate based on race, color or membership in language minority groups.
“The case might result in the Court invalidating entirely Section 2 of the VRA on the basis that the Constitution is color blind and it bars race-conscious districting, including when mandated by Congress to remedy historical racial discrimination in voting,” Mazzone said. “Such a result would represent a massive change in election laws and practices with seismic consequences for democratic processes at every level of government.”