Summing up the article using excerpts from it, but still worth reading in its entirety:

Louisiana v Callais is a major challenge to what remains of the Voting Rights of Act of 1965 (VRA) and could radically rework the structure of political representation in the United States. A successful challenge to the VRA would allow the Republican party to further cheat democracy by engaging in even more partisan gerrymandering and erasing several legislative districts held by Democratic officials, many of whom are racial minorities.

Multiple courts relied on section two of the VRA to strike down a set of legislative maps that did not afford Black voters with equal rights or equal opportunities as white voters. That set off a redistricting process where the Louisiana legislature had to ensure the state’s maps provided Black voters with political representation.

Now the supreme court is being asked to find section two illegal – to say that considering political equality is a kind of discrimination. The argument is that prohibiting legislatures from discriminating against Black voters, by denying them political opportunities, actually discriminates against white voters.

  • ctrl_alt_esc@lemmy.ml
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    21 days ago

    This sounds like an incredibly dumb argument, but I’m trying to understand their reasoning. Are they admitting that this proposed legislature is discriminating black voters, but say it’s ok because otherwise it would be discrimination against white voters? Or are they claiming it’s not discriminatory at all? In the former case, wouldn’t there need to be some law that says discrimination against whites is worse than discrimination against blacks?

    • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works
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      21 days ago

      I think it’s one of those “will of the voters” things they keep going on about. If we don’t let Republicans destroy democracy then we are besmirching the rights of their voters, who just happen to be majority white and clearly gave Republicans a “mandate”. But fuck you if you’re a Democratic voter, It’s not possible for Democrats to have a mandate.

      I’m not totally sure though, trying to think like them makes my brain hurt.