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The implications extend far beyond the borders of Louisiana. This case is a bellwether for how the highest court in the land views the concept of a multi-racial democracy. If the justices decide that the Voting Rights Act’s protections are no longer necessary or that they infringe upon the rights of the majority to draw lines as they see fit, we will see a rapid acceleration of “packing and cracking” across the nation. In one scenario, minority voters are “packed” into a single district to limit their influence to just one seat; in another, they are “cracked” across dozens of districts to ensure they never have a voice in any of them. Both methods achieve the same end: the preservation of power through the strategic manipulation of geography.
