With the SCOTUS Majority Intent on Dismantling the Voting Rights Act, Pro-Democracy States are Enacting State VRAs

Brian is gone today. The current climate suggests that further VRA destruction is imminent, so expect pro-democracy states who've not already implemented state VRAs to act rapidly in 2025. We have this report from June: We reported recently on the impact of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court majority’s decision invalidating Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Anticipating even more erosion of the VRA, some states have passed their own state VRAs.

Federal Appeals Court Says a Galveston,Texas Coalition of Black and Latinx Voters Doesn’t Qualify as a Majority Minority Voting District

Black & Latinx voters sued Galveston County, TX in 2022 over racially gerrymandered voting maps intended to dilute the power of minority voters.  The lower court judge in the case called the maps “mean-spirited” and “egregious,” but an appeals court just blocked minority coalitions from bringing such challenges.