Author Shawn Fleetwood profileWhile the battle between Republican- and Democrat-led states to redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterm continues to heat up, a case with major implications for the issue is quietly flying under the radar at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Late last week, the justices issued an order in a case known as Louisiana v. Callais. Set to be decided in the court’s 2025-2026 term, the matter revolves around a dispute involving Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the alleged prioritization of race when drafting Louisiana’s most recent congressional map.

In its order, the high court signaled that it would offer a definitive ruling on if the use of race when creating legislative districts violates the U.S. Constitution. More specifically, the justices instructed parties in the case to file supplemental briefs addressing the question of “[w]hether [Louisiana’s] intentional creation of a second majority-minority congressional district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments …” ….