The Supreme Court's most recent opinion is a sign that things are "going to get worse," according to one election expert.
Marc Elias, a voting rights attorney, argued during a new episode of the "Democracy Docket" podcast that the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais effectively "gutted" what remained of the Voting Rights Act. The decision struck down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited states from racially gerrymandering their election maps. The court's new requirements, according to Elias, are nearly impossible to meet.
Elias also warned that the battle to prevent many states from racially gerrymandering their maps is just getting started.
"This is beyond a farce," Elias said. "This is beyond insulting. This is beyond just striking down the Voting Rights Act. This is the kind of gaslighting and misdirection that, frankly, is beneath what we should expect from the highest court in our country."
"But the challenges that are in its wake, the follow-on effects from this decision, are going to be even worse," he added. "We're just seeing them in the days that have followed."
After the Supreme Court handed down the Callais ruling, lawmakers in Louisiana and Alabama began efforts to redraw their maps. The Florida GOP has also begun the process of approving a new election map.
