Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts Preview: The Worst Voting Rights Decision Since Jim Crow
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Apr 29, 2026 
Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund and veteran civil rights litigator, breaks down a Supreme Court ruling that guts key Voting Rights Act protections. She traces the case's history, explains how precedent was overturned, and outlines the wide-reaching impact on elections from school boards to Congress.
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Section 2 Is Effectively Disabled
- The Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
- Janai Nelson says the decision debilitates enforcement tools and turns the 15th Amendment into a "parchment promise."
Court Reverses Recent Redistricting Trajectory
- The majority labeled Louisiana's second majority-Black district an unconstitutional race-based gerrymander.
- Nelson calls the ruling a 180-degree flip from an Alabama redistricting case decided three years earlier, signaling major legal shift.
Wide Reach From Local Races To Congress
- The ruling will have sweeping consequences across electoral levels from school boards to Congress.
- Nelson warns it removes the most important tool to protect democracy from race discrimination in voting outside the 15th Amendment.