Supreme Court upholds ruling on Louisiana congressional map, drawing criticism from Senator Cory Booker

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower‑court decision that Louisiana's post‑2020 census congressional map, which created two majority‑Black districts, violates the Constitution because race was used as the predominant factor in drawing district lines. The case, Callais v. Louisiana, highlights the tension between Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which permits race‑considerate districting to avoid vote dilution, and the Equal Protection Clause, which bars over‑reliance on race.

Senator Cory Booker, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, denounced the ruling, saying it “sent us backwards in time, back to the 1870s” and likening it to the historic injustices of Jim Crow, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Korematsu. He urged the Court to be ashamed of the decision, arguing it undermines democratic representation for Black voters.