Opinion

Supreme Court just gave Black voters a shot at real power beyond safe seats

Minority swing voters in redrawn Louisiana districts could wield more influence than safe-seat majorities ever did

By Howard Husock Fox News

Published May 6, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Democrats decry Supreme Court ruling that rolls back key provision of voting rights act

Fox News chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream reports on the Supreme Court decision that limits the use of race in congressional redistricting on ‘Special Report.’

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The conventional liberal take on the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais to limit the use of race in drawing congressional districts is that it is a defeat for minority political influence. As the New York Times editorial page writes: "The reality is that in the name of disentangling race from politics, the Supreme Court has given white voters more power at the expense of racial minorities."

It’s true that by not creating as many congressional districts with a Black majority population—often by connecting geographically distant parts of communities—there may be fewer seats almost guaranteed to be won by African Americans. As I wrote on this site when the court heard arguments in the case last fall: "Only by going out of their way to find majority Black neighborhoods to cobble together in one district can Louisiana achieve progressives’ stated goal: two districts likely to elect a second........

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