Padilla Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Demolishing Another Pillar of Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Alito in Louisiana v. Callais that a minority-opportunity district in Louisiana was unconstitutional, enabling states to more easily eliminate minority representation in the House of Representatives and other state and local elected offices.

"Today's Supreme Court decision strips the right to equal representation from a community in Louisiana, but its impact will reverberate through communities across the country. Faced with President Trump's brazen attacks on our democracy, the Supreme Court's conservative majority has now joined him in enabling a system where political leaders can try to cling to power by eroding voting rights, particularly for minority and disadvantaged communities.

"As Justice Kagan correctly explained, this opinion is the 'latest chapter in the majority's now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act,' a shameful legacy that began with Shelby County and one that defies Congress's intent. In doing so, it has created another devastating roadblock in the fight for fair congressional maps, diminishing the voting power of communities of color by undercutting one of their few remaining protections against racial redistricting efforts.

"This decision will likely lead to chaos ahead of the 2026 midterms, which have already been rocked by Trump's efforts to gerrymander congressional districts for Republican gain and threats to eliminate vote-by-mail. We must continue to fight for a democracy in which every vote counts, and in which every vote holds equal power, starting by banning mid-decade gerrymanders nationwide and establishing fair redistricting criteria."

In the Senate, Senator Padilla is the lead sponsor of the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025, which would prohibit states from mid-decade redistricting and would require every state to adopt nonpartisan, independent redistricting commissions. He is also an original cosponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965, including reestablishing preclearance, protecting minority communities subjecting to discriminatory voting practices, and defending election workers from threats and intimidation.

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