The Court’s Second Look: Inside the October 15 Oral Argument in Louisiana v. Callais

The Court’s Second Look: Inside the October 15 Oral Argument in Louisiana v. Callais

By EditorOct 18, 20250 Comments
The Supreme Court reheard Louisiana v. Callais on Oct. 15, focusing on whether Louisiana’s intentional creation of a second majority-Black congressional district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments. Louisiana enacted SB 8 in 2024, creating a second majority-Black district after a trial court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the legislature's 2022 congressional map, which consisted of one majority Black district. A three-judge court in the Western District of Louisiana preliminarily enjoined the court-ordered 2024 remedial map on April 30, 2024, as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander after voters sued. The State and intervenor-appellants took a direct appeal to the Supreme Court,…
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Utah Court Throws Out Congressional Map, Orders Redraw

Utah Court Throws Out Congressional Map, Orders Redraw

By EditorAug 26, 2025
Utah’s redistricting fight reached a turning point on Monday, when Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that lawmakers unconstitutionally repealed the voter‑approved Proposition 4 and ordered the Legislature to enact a remedial congressional map for the 2026 cycle. Proposition 4 passed narrowly by voters in 2018 and was branded “Better Boundaries.” Prop 4 created a seven-member independent redistricting commission and required maps to meet neutral criteria, including equal population, compactness/contiguity, maintaining cities and counties together, respecting communities of interest, and forbidding the drawing of districts to favor or disfavor a party or incumbent unduly. The Legislature could enact or…
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Eighth Circuit Leaves North Dakota Tribes and Section 2 enforcement, waiting on the Supreme Court

Eighth Circuit Leaves North Dakota Tribes and Section 2 enforcement, waiting on the Supreme Court

By EditorJul 08, 2025
This week, a divided Eighth Circuit has refused to rehear Spirit Lake Tribe v. Howe, leaving intact its May 2025 ruling that bars private plaintiffs from suing under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The order preserves a decision that eliminated a key enforcement pathway for the seven states within the circuit and sets the stage for potential U.S. Supreme Court involvement. The case began when the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians challenged North Dakota’s 2021 legislative map, arguing that splitting their reservations diluted Native voting power. A U.S. District Court Judge…
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Georgia Redistricting Update (Jan. 10, 2024)

Georgia Redistricting Update (Jan. 10, 2024)

By EditorJan 10, 2024
On October 26, 2023, a U.S. District Court ordered Georgia's legislative and congressional districts to be redrawn before the 2024 election. The legislature had passed those maps in 2021 following the 2020 census. The litigation includes three sets of plaintiffs and the court ultimately found that the legislature's maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Among other findings, the court noted convincing evidence that the political process in Georgia was not equally accessible to Black voters when compared to their White counterparts. This being the case, the prophylactic measures prescribed in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act were necessary…
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Update: Status of New Hampshire Redistricting Litigation(July 2023)

Update: Status of New Hampshire Redistricting Litigation(July 2023)

By EditorJul 21, 2023
New Hampshire reportedly was the last state to complete redistricting for the 2020 cycle after the legislature and governor failed to agree on a map. The political struggles surrounding the enactment of a congressional map have given way to legal challenges against the state senate and house maps. Details below. Congressional Map The New Hampshire State Supreme Court took jurisdiction in case of an impasse over the congressional map in April of 2022. (Norelli v. Scanlan) The legislature presented two maps to the governor - one in March and another in May - both of which the governor announced his…
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Utah Supreme Court Requests Additional Briefing in Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge

Utah Supreme Court Requests Additional Briefing in Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge

By EditorJul 19, 2023
The Utah Supreme Court seemed to be grappling with the issue of the citizen's right to initiative versus the legislature's right to enact laws. After oral argument in a case alleging that the 2021 congressional district map was a partisan gerrymander, (see League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature) the question arose of whether the legislature had the right to repeal a statute with anti-gerrymandering provisions (Proposition 4) - which it did in 2020. In October of last year, the trial court dismissed the claims regarding the Utah Legislature’s repeal of Proposition 4 but allowed the League's…
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Watch: Utah Supreme Court Oral Argument in Congressional Map Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Watch: Utah Supreme Court Oral Argument in Congressional Map Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By EditorJul 18, 2023
The Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a partisan gerrymandering challenge to the state's 2021 congressional map. The case is League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature. Watch on YouTube. For news, litigation documents, district maps, and more information about Utah Redistricting, visit the Utah Redistricting Almanac Page. The Almanac home page for all 50 states is here. Find us on:
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NY Court Orders Redistricting Commission to Draw a “Second” Congressional Map

NY Court Orders Redistricting Commission to Draw a “Second” Congressional Map

By EditorJul 13, 2023
Today New York's Supreme Court, Appellate Division directed the state's Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to submit a second congressional map to comply with the NY State Constitution. This decision (with 2 of 5 judges on the panel dissenting) will likely be appealed to the state's highest court. A state court has already required the IRC to draw and submit a second state house map after its initial failure to agree on any state redistricting map in January of 2022. Read the court's opinion here. From the court opinion: "The IRC had an indisputable duty under the NY Constitution to submit…
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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Exclusive Power of State Legislatures to Draw Redistricting Maps in NC Case

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Exclusive Power of State Legislatures to Draw Redistricting Maps in NC Case

By EditorJun 29, 2023
On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court held that state legislatures do not have exclusive and independent authority to set the rules regarding federal elections under the U.S. Constitution's Elections Clause. This idea had been dubbed the "independent state legislature theory." Practically speaking, this decision affirmed the North Carolina Supreme Court's authority to review the state legislature's congressional districting plans for compliance with the state constitution. You can read the opinion in Moore v. Harper here. Post Decision Analysis For a short history of the case and what it means for North Carolina and other states, listen to the CSPAN interview…
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U.S. Supreme Court Makes “Surprise” Decision Striking Alabama’s Congressional Map

U.S. Supreme Court Makes “Surprise” Decision Striking Alabama’s Congressional Map

By EditorJun 09, 2023
On Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Alabama District Court's preliminary injunction against the state's 2021 Congressional map on grounds that it diluted the votes of Black voters in the state in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The 5-4 decision ensures that Alabama's 7 district congressional map, which included only one with a majority of Black voters - will have to be redrawn to include an additional minority Black district. African Americans make up more than a quarter of the state’s population. The decision has implications for Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas as well. It is…
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