Voting Rights Act Never Mandated Racial Districts

Ever since the recent decision of the Supreme Court limiting the use of race in drawing congressional districts, there has been a steady drumbeat of criticism claiming that the ruling somehow took away the rights of blacks and other minorities.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

As Justice Samuel Alito explained in his majority opinion, the prevailing interpretation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as requiring states to create congressional districts along racial lines actually undermined the constitutional rights of other citizens by colliding with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Unfortunately, the legal language of Alito’s opinion is difficult for the average reader to penetrate, so it is worth stepping back and looking at the actual language of the Voting Rights Act itself. The part of the law at issue is Section 2.