Supreme Court allows Voting Rights ruling to take effect immediately

The Supreme Court decided Monday to let its recent ruling limiting a key part of the Voting Rights Act take effect early instead of holding it for a month, per tradition. 

The Supreme Court last week narrowed the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to bar race-based districts, ruling that Louisiana's map was unconstitutional and prompting the state to reschedule its upcoming House primaries while its lines are redrawn.

Supporters of the Supreme Court ruling urged the court to allow it to take effect immediately so Louisiana has time to redraw the maps, but opponents urged the court to push it until after the election because voting in the primary had begun.

The court's ruling was unsigned but Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion that Louisiana should not have to use a map found to be unconstitutional and there is still time for a new map to be redrawn, according to USA Today. 

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said in a dissenting opinion that the court's decisions have "spawned chaos" in the south.

“To avoid the appearance of partiality here, we could, as per usual, opt to stay on the sidelines and take no position by applying our default procedures,” Jackson wrote. "But, today, the Court chooses the opposite.”

Louisiana officials said that the high court's timeline for the new map does not matter and that it will be able to redraw the maps regardless of when it takes effect.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.