Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.

Nearly a third of the seats in Congress currently held by members of the Congressional Black Caucus could be at risk due to a recent Supreme Court ruling upending aspects of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a new analysis has found.

In late April, the conservative-led Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, ruled against enforcement mechanisms used by some lower courts requiring states to draw Black-majority districts to comply with Section 2 of the VRA. Prior to the high court’s ruling, such mechanisms were seen as a way to ensure that states couldn’t disenfranchise Black voters.

In a dissent to the majority’s decision, Justice Elena Kagan noted that, under the new standard established by the court, “a State can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power.” Kagan further described the ruling as the “latest chapter in the [conservative] majority’s now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.”

As a consequence of that ruling, up to 19 Democratic lawmakers within the 62-member Congressional Black Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives could be removed from office this year or in the next few years, an analysis from ABC News concluded — not necessarily because constituents disagree with their views or want better alternatives, but because state legislatures could redistrict congressional boundaries to help Republican candidates win instead.

Several states are planning to redraw or have already redrawn their congressional maps to reflect the new standards of the Louisiana v. Callais decision in time for this........

© Truthout