Campaign

Supreme Court VRA ruling encourages new redistricting, more uncertainty ahead of November

Comments:

by Caroline Vakil - 05/03/26 12:00 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Caroline Vakil - 05/03/26 12:00 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

The Supreme Court’s decision to throw out Louisiana’s congressional maps — and weaken the Voting Rights Act in the process — is throwing a wrench into an already-turbulent midterm cycle as more states prepare to hold their primaries in the coming weeks.

Louisiana officials announced they would be delaying congressional primaries — slated to start next month — in response to the high court’s decision on Wednesday that the Bayou State’s House map was an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”

Some Republicans are already pushing to make last-minute changes elsewhere, too, including in Tennessee and potentially Alabama.

But experts warn that changing congressional maps and primary dates months before the November elections will create a host of problems for candidates, election officials and voters at a time when public trust in elections is dwindling.

“It will also have an impact on just how people view democracy — not deriving from the authority of the voters, but more just one big game to be manipulated,” said former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R), who challenged Republican claims of election fraud in his county.

Conservatives cheered the Supreme Court’s recent decision to reject Louisiana’s House map, which was initially required to create two Black-majority House districts. The ruling also makes it significantly more difficult for states to consider race in redistricting.

The country was already mired in a redistricting battle between the two parties. Republican-led states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina redrew their House maps ahead of the midterms at the behest of President Trump and the national party. In response, Democrats passed new maps in California and Virginia to counter those GOP gains.

Litigation is still playing out in some states over whether new congressional lines will be adopted in time for the midterms.

The Supreme Court’s ruling over the Louisiana maps, however, turbocharged Republican redistricting efforts, with some members of the party immediately calling for other GOP-led states that had the ability to redraw their states’ maps and change primary dates before the midterms to do so.

“I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

A day later, Lee called a special session starting Tuesday to review the state’s congressional map.

“After consultation with the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, I believe the General Assembly has a responsibility to review the map and ensure it remains fair, legal, and defensible,” Lee said in a statement.

Tennessee currently has an 8-1 Republican edge in its congressional delegation. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) is the lone House Democrat, whose district is based in Memphis.

William Lyons, associate director for community outreach at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Institute of American Civics, noted that Tennessee code prohibits congressional mid-decade redistricting — a stipulation that would need to be first addressed before lawmakers can redistrict.

It “doesn’t necessarily slow things down, it just makes it a two-step process,” Lyons suggested.

Over in Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) called a special session to consider a special congressional primary while state officials are hoping the Supreme Court will give the state a chance to also redraw their congressional lines in light of the high court’s decision. The state currently has two Black-majority House districts, which were created originally at the behest of the Supreme Court.

“Because the lower court’s injunction cannot stand in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, we have asked the court to lift the injunction. Alabama deserves the right to use its own maps, just like every other state,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) said in a statement.

But not all southern states are following suit. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said his state would not redraw its maps before November but said the move was likely before the 2028 elections.

“The Supreme Court’s decision Louisiana v. Callais restores fairness to our redistricting process and allows states to pass electoral maps that reflect the will of the voters, not the will of federal judges,” Kemp said in a statement. “Voting is already underway for the 2026 elections, but it’s cle