Following Schmitt’s Request, DOJ Commits to Ending All Districts Drawn Based on Race

Schmitt Sent a Letter Calling for Nationwide Enforcement of Louisiana v. Callais Ruling

U.S. SENATE - U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon calling for both a full review of all pending redistricting litigation and an examination of all districts created due to prior misinterpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais. After sending the letter, Assistant Attorney General Dhillon confirmed the Department of Justice (DOJ) will conduct a full review of all potentially racially gerrymandered districts drawn under prior misinterpretations of Section 2 of the VRA prior to Callais.

"The Department should not wait for private litigants to identify every race-based district one by one. The Civil Rights Division has participated in, monitored, or influenced redistricting litigation for years. It should therefore identify the universe of districts created, preserved, or defended under the old Section 2 regime and determine whether they survive Callais.

"The Department should act swiftly with urgency: issue guidance implementing Callais, review every pending and prior, yet still in effect, Section 2 redistricting matter, and use its authority to stop the VRA from continuing to be used as a pretext for continued unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. I look forward to working with you to ensure the Civil Rights Division enforces Section 2 as an anti-discrimination law-not as a racial districting mandate," wrote Senator Schmitt.

Read Senator Schmitt's letter HERE.

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