Posted May 7, 2026
CHC BOLD PAC, the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on April 29, condemned the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which dismantles Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act’s (VRA) core protection allowing communities of color to challenge racially discriminatory congressional maps.
“Today [April 29], the Supreme Court gave Republican legislatures permission to silence Latino and Black voters — and they did it while this Administration has spent months threatening to send ICE to the polls to frighten those same voters away. We see exactly what this is. They’re attacking our fundamental right to vote in an attempt to erase Latinos and Latinas from the map and scare us away from the polls. It won’t work,” said Chairwoman Linda Sánchez.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito dramatically raised the legal bar for challenging discriminatory maps, now requiring plaintiffs to prove intentional discrimination, a standard Congress explicitly rejected when it strengthened the VRA in 1982. Justice Elena Kagan called Section 2 “all but a dead letter” under the majority’s interpretation, and predicted a sharp decline in minority representation in Congress and legislative bodies across the country.
The ruling immediately empowers Republican–controlled legislatures to redraw congressional maps, stripping representation from Black and Latino communities. Redistricting analysts project that Republicans in eight states now have the opportunity to gerrymander over a dozen congressional districts drawn to prevent racial discrimination–all currently held by Democrats.
The threat to voting rights does not stop at redistricting. For months, Trump allies have openly called for ICE agents to surround polling places, the White House declined to rule it out, and administration officials refused to put their assurances in writing. The April 29 ruling and this Administration’s voter intimidation campaign are two sides of the same coin–one erasing Latino and Black voters from the map, the other trying to scare them away from the polls.
Latino voters are responding to these tactics. During the March 2026 Texas primary, five majority–Latino counties exceeded their 2024 Harris vote totals, and Democratic primary turnout surpassed Republican turnout statewide for the first time in decades. The answer to suppression is a higher, louder turnout — and that is exactly what is coming in November.
