The Supreme Court’s six-to-three Republican-appointed majority issued a staggering ruling on Wednesday essentially killing the remaining protections of the Voting Rights Act, dealing a death blow to the country’s most important civil rights law. The majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito in Louisiana v. Callais strikes down the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana and in so doing narrows Section 2 of the VRA to the point of irrelevance, making it nearly impossible to prove that a gerrymandered map violates the right of voters of color.
“Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the State’s use of race in creating SB8, and that map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” Alito wrote. “The Constitution almost never permits a State to discriminate on the basis of race, and such discrimination triggers strict scrutiny.”
We’ve had impartial computerized methods of creating fair districts for decades. It doesn’t benefit those in power, who are the ones who would have to approve it.
A group should be formed, independent of state or federal, to form districts every few years based on population movement. If a party is disadvantaged by the makeup within that district, then they’ll just have to work harder to try and sell themselves as a better choice. The role of a representative is a representation of that area, and should reflect their needs. Not some bigger party goal that needs the numbers.
Personally I more think we need to dismantle the party system we have. Political Parties should form and dissolve fluidly and be more akin to social clubs not actual bodies to dictate policy