Former vice-president Kamala Harris has attacked the Supreme Court's decision allowing states to redraw Black-majority congressional districts, claiming it enables Republicans to 'cheat' ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking on a call with the nonprofit organisation Emerge, Harris said the ruling 'back-doors racism through politics' and is 'intentionally trying to suppress the voice of the people.' The decision in Louisiana v Callais requires voters to prove 'intentional discrimination' when challenging racial gerrymandering, a significant weakening of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Harris raised the prospect of Supreme Court reform, 'including the notion of expanding the court.' She also suggested discussing statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., and rethinking the Electoral College. 'We've got to neutralise this red-state cheating,' she said, adding that there is 'a brutality at play on the other side.'
In the wake of the ruling, Republican-controlled states have moved to redraw electoral maps. Tennessee eliminated its sole Black-majority district in Memphis, splitting it into three districts. Similar efforts are under way in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Harris said voters are paying attention to rising prices, the war, and unemployment, and accused Republicans of making access to the polls more difficult because they 'are afraid of the power of the people.'
Her remarks drew a swift response from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called her an 'institutional arsonist' and described the proposal to expand the court as a 'dangerous gambit'. 'You don't just blow up the system when you lose,' he said, calling the suggestion 'outrageous.'
