>> The redistricting battle that began in Texas last year continues to have ripple effects across the nation just this week, redistricting effort in South Carolina stalled out while a map and Alabama faces a legal challenge.

But lawmakers in Florida and Tennessee have successfully adopted new congressional maps.

Some of these efforts have been made easier, though, since the U.S.

Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana versus Kelly.

That weekend, key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Joining us with more on this now, our Conor Cozy check program counsel at the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the Midwest Voting Rights Project.

And John Mark Hanson, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

Thanks to you both for joining us.

Marcus, starting with you first.

Even before the recent Supreme Court decision, there were states that we're looking at mid-decade redistricting and we kind of mentioned it at the top starting in Texas.

But remind us, if you would, of how this all got started.

You got started really in Texas.

>> And President Trump really sort of press them to redistrict in the middle of the decade he thinking about how he result in some additional members from the Republican Party thinking that since he had done better than he had before in Texas and particularly with Latino voters that there might be opportunity to pick up more Republican seats in Texas.

>> Connor, explain for us if you would.

The Supreme Court's finding in Louisiana versus Kelly.

>> Yeah, this was a decision that eviscerated section 2 of the Federal Voting Rights Act which is often referred to as the crown jewel of the civil rights movement.

The federal DRA protects against vote dilution, which is unfair districts that prevent communities of color from electing the candidates of their choice.

And in Louisiana versus Cal.

A U.S.

Supreme Court said that state or local governments creating maps.

Essentially can assert that they did not intentionally racially discriminate and making those maps and instead can use partisan goals.

Even if there's a racially discriminatory consequence in creating those maps and this this decision, but Supreme Court, it's also, you know, it comes after a couple of other Supreme Court decisions regarding the Voting Rights Act that all together.

>> What would you say?

The status or is it a shell of itself before after all, these decisions by the Supreme Court?

Yeah, it's a big bill that includes many pieces.

But over the course of the last decade in particular, it has been chipped away at and fully got it depending on the provision.

How does the shape of a district how does that affect the voting power voters half?

It's really significant.

Thurs a number of factors that go into the map itself.

But the communities that are included within a district determines who is voting on specific elected representatives in shape, the outcomes of those elections, a marker.

There are other examples of mid-decade redistricting throughout history that you could name.

For a There was there were several states in the 1960's who had to read which had to redistrict there.

>> Their congressional delegations because the Voting Rights Act, actually many of them in the south.

They tried to evade and of course and allow them to do so from one that serve touched off a lot of kind competitive partisan redistricting was mid-decade redistricting.

That isn't in Texas in the 2 thousands that was instigated by Tom DeLay, who is yes representative from Texas from the Houston area and who was the minority in the U.S.

house at the time the Republicans did very, very well in 2002 in the midterm elections in the state legislature and so an opportunity to change map that have been drawn the Democrats.

And after the 2000 census and to turn into much more effective mat for the Republicans, it was very, very successful.

So it's it's happen from time to Usually when there are legal things that need to be addressed.

But increasingly it's become an extension of partisan warfare.

>> Connor, earlier this year, there was an attempt to draw a new map and Indiana.

What happened there?

Yeah.

There was intense pressure from the current presidential administration for Indiana to redraw its maps.

And we saw significant pushback from voters and non-partisan organizations that resisted an unfair mapping process.

And you also saw a number of Republican elected officials in the Indiana Senate and House in addition to Democrats pushed back forcefully against that stopping process from happening this year.

Mark just yesterday, a proposed map in Alabama was overturned by a district court.

Bring it bring us up to speed on what's happening there.

>> understand it is that this was a case that actually written Alabama couple years ago in 2023, the state legislature draw during new districts as a result of of the 2020 census and drew them in such a way that there remain only a majority African-American district in the state.

a federal court.

A federal appeals court ruled that get deluded African-American voting power and was illegal under the Voting Rights Act.

That case was actually taken by the United States Supreme Court, which actually upheld a challenge and it didn't immediately call it didn't immediately forced Alabama do the redistricting.

But but it did require Alabama to do a second map.

That second map was then also ruled out of bounds by a federal district And there was a second African-American district created in Alabama.

And it's that same panel.

Let's district court that ruled recently that.

are just a few days that the map is in violation, not just the Voting Rights Act.

Voting Rights Act interpreted in the most recent decision in Calais.

>> And of course, you know, there's a lot of focus on how the decisions and how the redistricting will impact the representation of black voters in particular.

And there's reason for that, right?

The civil rights movement was to obtain rights.

Of course, for African-Americans in this country.

But what other voters does, the Voting Rights Act still protect?

>> Well, the Voting Rights has been extended as well to no voters.

And so you know, African American representation in the U.S.

House Representatives increased over time in markedly in state legislatures as well.

That's that's the other.

I think that we ought to be talking about.

The same has been true of that.

He knows Hispanics as so those protections are also so by the boards now that the Supreme Court has ruled in that ruled such efforts are are out of bounds.

>> Connor, can Illinois or any other states do anything on their own to uphold some of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act?

Yeah, absolutely.

As you mentioned, it has been over a decade of federal court decisions chipping away and getting the Federal Voting Rights Act response to that, many states have enacted state equivalence that secure or strengthen protections under the federal Vra.

>> Illinois currently has a bill introduced sponsored by Senator Garcia like on the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2026 Senate Bill.

3170 that seeks to secure those protections for voters in Illinois against voter suppression tight leash and those on fair districts and also expanding language access for voters whose first language isn't English.

>> Mark, we've got just 30 seconds.

But, you know, could all of this redistricting and redrawing could backfire for either party?

>> Well, as in yes, and probably more likely for the Republicans.

The Democrats, the problem with what President Trump went ahead with was that it it proceeded on the assumption that all of the votes that he won in 2024. places like Texas stay Republican, which is completely crazy idea because circumstances change.

incumbent president hand.

Thank you vote on consent great and sometimes districts themselves can change.

That is where we'll have to leave it.

I'm sure something that the 2 of you and we will be keeping