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The United States Supreme Court heard opening arguments last week in Merrill v. Milligan, which will center around whether or not race should be a required consideration when drawing maps of electoral districts. Al Drago/Getty Images hide caption
The United States Supreme Court heard opening arguments last week in Merrill v. Milligan, which will center around whether or not race should be a required consideration when drawing maps of electoral districts.
Al Drago/Getty ImagesLast week, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in Merrill v. Mulligan, a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for the third time this decade.
At the center of the debate is Alabama's new congressional maps. Black voters make up the majority of only one out of seven districts. More than a quarter of the state's population is Black.
A three-judge federal panel ruled that Alabama should create a second congressional district. The state appealed, arguing that congressional maps shouldn't take race into consideration, and the case is now in front of the Supreme Court.
Eric Holder was the U.S. attorney general during the first case that weakened the Voting Rights Act: Shelby County v. Holder. He is now in the middle of this latest fight as the chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which supports the plaintiff in the Alabama case. He shares with us the potential impact of this case and where the fight for voting rights goes if the Voting Rights Act receives yet another body blow.
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This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Erika Ryan. It was edited by Sami Yenigun and Ashley Brown. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
