'If You Can Keep It': The Supreme Court And The Voting Rights Act

'If You Can Keep It': The Supreme Court And The Voting Rights Act

From 1A by NPR

May 4, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

The episode discusses a recent Supreme Court ruling that impacts the Voting Rights Act and its implications for redistricting and elections in America.

Last week, in a six-to-three ruling along ideological lines, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That’s the landmark Civil Rights era law designed to prevent racial discrimination in an election. The law was passed to unravel Jim Crow era policies that limited or blocked Black Americans’ access to the ballot. The decision in Louisiana v. Callais struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an “unconstitutional gerrymander.” But the ruling goes further. It effectively rewrites the rules for how the Voting Rights Act can be used to challenge discriminatory maps, making it much harder to do so going forward. It’s the latest in a string of rulings making the last all but moot. We tackle the race to redistrict across America and we talk about how this hugely consequential ruling changes an election season already in full swing. Find more of our programs online . Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Topics covered

  • Voting Rights
  • Supreme Court
  • Redistricting
  • Civil Rights
  • Gerrymandering
  • Election Law

Keywords

  • Voting Rights Act
  • Supreme Court ruling
  • gerrymandering
  • redistricting
  • Civil Rights
  • Louisiana v. Callais
  • election season

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Supreme Court, Voting Rights Act of 1965, NPR

Places: Louisiana

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