# GOP states rush to break up Black voting districts after Supreme Court ruling  
**Published:** 2026-05-07T15:17:09.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/07/repub/killing-our-vote-gop-states-rush-to-break-up-black-districts-after-us-supreme-court-case/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/gop-states-rush-to-break-up-black-voting-districts-after-supreme-court-ruling

A week after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, Republican-controlled states are rapidly redrawing congressional maps to eliminate majority-Black districts, drawing fierce criticism from voting rights advocates who liken the effort to Jim Crow-era voter suppression.

[According to the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/07/repub/killing-our-vote-gop-states-rush-to-break-up-black-districts-after-us-supreme-court-case/), the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais on April 29 struck down the state's congressional map containing two majority-Black districts, finding the intentional creation of such districts unconstitutional. The court's conservative majority ruled that the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create additional majority-minority districts, opening the door for other states to follow suit.

Louisiana moved fastest, [suspending its May 16 primary elections](https://lailluminator.com/2026/05/04/louisiana-lawmakers-to-begin-congressional-map-revisions-friday/) after 42,000 voters had already cast early ballots. Tennessee Republicans [unveiled a plan to carve up Memphis's majority-Black district](https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/05/05/tennessee-democrats-redistricting-special-session-all-about-race/) held by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, the state's only Democratic-held seat. [Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new map into law](https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/05/04/desantis-signs-legislation-making-new-congressional-map-official/) aimed at providing his party up to four additional House seats, while Alabama is weighing whether to return to previously blocked maps.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the decision one of the three worst Supreme Court rulings in American history, alongside Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson. "The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind," Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said in a statement, citing the ruling to justify partisan redistricting efforts.

The ruling significantly weakens Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which for 61 years has protected voters of color from racial discrimination in electoral maps. [The court's majority opinion](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf) reshaped long-standing legal tests for vote dilution claims, making it substantially harder for voters to challenge discriminatory maps.

Civil rights groups warn the decision threatens decades of Black political progress in the South. Residents at state legislative hearings invoked the region's painful history. "We refuse to let you kill us by killing our vote," Eliza Jane Franklin of rural Alabama told a state House hearing Tuesday, recalling how literacy tests and poll taxes once suppressed Black voters.

The redistricting frenzy reflects the stakes of November's midterm elections. [Democratic control of the House would block much of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/supreme-court-decision-alters-2026-midterm-election-outlook/) and potentially lead to investigations of his administration. Republicans are banking on redrawing districts to shore up their majority before voters head to the polls.

Voting rights advocates and Democratic leaders say the Supreme Court's decision represents a historic setback for American democracy, gutting protections that once seemed permanent and opening an era when states can systematically diminish minority voters' political power with little legal recourse.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/07/repub/killing-our-vote-gop-states-rush-to-break-up-black-districts-after-us-supreme-court-case/)
- [Supreme Court opinion in Louisiana v. Callais (April 29, 2026)](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/07/repub/killing-our-vote-gop-states-rush-to-break-up-black-districts-after-us-supreme-court-case/.