Court watchers speculate that #Alito, because he has not authored an opinion from the court’s term last October, is writing the majority opinion in a hugely important case the court has yet to rule on concerning the constitutionality of the last remaining section of the #VotingRightsAct. If that’s the case, the #VRA — and by extension, the fate of American #democracy — will be in very, very bad shape.

#law #SCOTUS #ElectionLaw #redistricting #gerrymandering #authoritarianism

#Alito is essentially saying that districts drawn under the #VotingRightsAct or other federal & state laws to remedy centuries of racial #discrimination are as #racist as the #racism (including the legacy of #slavery & #JimCrow) they were meant to rectify.

#law #SCOTUS #democracy #VRA #ElectionLaw #redistricting #gerrymandering #authoritarianism

“Time & again, this Court has said that federal courts should not interfere with state-court litigation,” #Sotomayor wrote. “Time & again, this Court has said that federal courts should not meddle with state election laws ahead of an election. Today, the Court says: except for this one, except for this one, & except for this one.”

#law #SCOTUS #democracy #VRA #ElectionLaw #redistricting #gerrymandering #authoritarianism

In her dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices #KetanjiBrownJackson & Elena #Kagan, Justice Sonia #Sotomayor blasted the court’s conservative majority for using one set of rules to uphold #redistricting maps that benefit #white voters & #Republicans in states like #Texas while using a completely different set of rules to strike down maps that benefit racial “minorities” & #Democrats in places like #NewYork.

#law #SCOTUS #democracy #VRA #ElectionLaw #gerrymandering #authoritarianism

The court’s ruling sets a disturbing #precedent for #VotingRights in several ways. Federal courts are supposed to defer to #state courts on matters of state #law. And #SCOTUS has repeatedly ruled that courts should not change election laws in the middle of an #election season, & in this instance the filing deadline for candidates in #NewYork has already passed.

#law #democracy #VRA #ElectionLaw #redistricting #gerrymandering #authoritarianism

#SCOTUS on Monday evening overturned a #NewYork state court ruling that found that the Staten Island-based district of #Republican US House Rep. Nicole Malliotakis discriminated against #Black & #Latino voters & needed to be redrawn. The Supreme Court’s intervention preserves a #GOP led seat that would have been likely to shift to #Democrats this November.

#law #democracy #VRA #ElectionLaw #redistricting #gerrymandering #authoritarianism