In one of the most consequential election-law rulings of the term, the Supreme Court on April 29 struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, holding that the state’s SB8 plan was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Court concluded that the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, and without that predicate, the state could not rely on compliance with federal voting-rights law as a compelling interest to justify race-based line drawing.

The decision in Louisiana, Appellant v. Phillip Callais, et al. immediately reshapes the legal landscape for redistricting disputes.