Voting rights activists have been stunned by the speed at which southern states are moving to redraw congressional maps following the US Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. The decision has emboldened Republican-led states to eliminate Democratic-majority districts, which are often Black-majority, in a move that critics describe as the swiftest disenfranchisement of Black voters since Reconstruction.
Louisiana and Alabama Lead the Charge
One week after the Callais ruling, Louisiana's governor ordered the state's ongoing congressional election to be set aside while lawmakers redraw maps to eliminate a Democratic-majority seat covering Baton Rouge. In Alabama, the Republican-majority legislature is drafting legislation in a special session that would allow it to set aside the results of a completed primary if courts lift an injunction on its redistricting.
Florida and Mississippi Follow Suit
Florida was already in a special redistricting session when the ruling was handed down, passing a map that packs Black and brown voters into four districts on the south Florida coast and Orlando, eliminating every other Democratic majority. Mississippi will convene in a Confederate-era capitol building to eliminate the Democratic majority in the one district held by a Black representative.
South Carolina and Tennessee Take Action
South Carolina's Republican majority voted to extend its legislative calendar to consider eliminating the state's sole Democratic-majority, Black-majority district held by Representative James Clyburn. Tennessee lawmakers voted to eliminate its one remaining Democratic district around Memphis, a city of about 610,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Black.
Donald Trump's demand to tear up political norms has been met by Republican states eager to dust off a segregation-era playbook that maximizes the political power of white voters. Democratic state representative Justin Pearson of Tennessee said, 'What's happening right now is probably the swiftest disenfranchisement of Black folks since Reconstruction, due to disenfranchisement by racist gerrymandering.'
Activists Respond with Lawsuits and Protests
Lawsuits are being filed across the affected states. In Tennessee, existing state law bans mid-decade redistricting, but lawmakers amended that law to conduct this redistricting. Stacey Abrams, a voting rights advocate, addressed Tennessee lawmakers, saying, 'Rigged maps that decide elections before a single vote is cast and politicians who rig elections so it's impossible for them to lose: this is not democracy. This is cowardice.'
Republican lawmakers ignored her pleas and moved a committee meeting to another room without allowing the public to watch. Later, activists held a 'Tennessee People's Hearing on Redistricting' at a historically Black church in Nashville.
Florida and Alabama Activists Mobilize
Genesis Robinson of Equal Ground in Florida filed a lawsuit immediately after the state passed its new maps. He noted that Florida has been the epicenter of attacks on voting rights. In Alabama, Anneshia Hardy, a voting rights activist, cried for 30 minutes upon hearing the ruling. She attended legislative hearings in Montgomery, where Republican lawmakers passed a bill allowing them to set aside primary results if a federal injunction is lifted.
Mississippi's Symbolic Choice of Venue
Mississippi house lawmakers are meeting in the old capitol building, used by post-Reconstruction white supremacists to strip free Black citizens of their rights. Amir Badat, a voting rights attorney, called it a deviation from normal legislative process that could indicate discriminatory intent.
Call for Resistance
Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi described the situation as 'equivalent to a second civil war,' urging resistance at every election. As Tennessee lawmakers voted to send new maps to the governor, state troopers dragged shouting protesters from the gallery. Activists are grimly preparing for mobilization and protest similar to that which led to the Civil Rights Act more than 60 years ago.
