Eric Holder Calls on SCOTUS to Reinstate Louisiana’s Voting Rights Act-Compliant Congressional Map

For Immediate Release
October 15, 2025
Contact
Brooke Lillard
comms@redistrictingfoundation.org

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to rehear oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a redistricting lawsuit that could determine the future of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 

Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, issued the following statement ahead of the oral argument:

“The Voting Rights Act is the crown jewel of the civil rights movement, and it transformed the nation for the better. For 60 years, it has served as the critical enforcement mechanism to ensure that the fundamental constitutional promise of equal protection under the law is a reality. 

“Within just the past two years, the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act has dismantled racially discriminatory maps in multiple states, including Alabama and Louisiana. That need for enforcement sadly demonstrates that this law’s protections remain absolutely necessary today. The Supreme Court agreed with that conclusion just two years ago when it enforced Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Alabama. Any decision that comes short of reaffirming that precedent—established by the very same justices—could shatter Americans’ faith in the judicial system. 

“In the midst of the greatest attack on the right to vote since Jim Crow, our nation’s highest tribunal and other courts must protect this most vital of rights. The Court must make it clear that violating the voting rights of American citizens will not be tolerated, and it must do so by permanently reinstating Louisiana’s Voting Rights Act-compliant map.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

The congressional map passed into law by the state of Louisiana in 2022 allowed Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice in just one of six congressional districts, despite the fact that Black voters made up a third of the state’s population. In response, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF)  initiated Galmon v. Ardoin, which was consolidated with Robinson v. Ardoin, lawsuits challenging Louisiana’s gerrymandered congressional map for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. That litigation was ultimately successful in requiring the state of Louisiana to enact a new, VRA-compliant map that includes two Black opportunity districts. 

Immediately after enactment of this new map, a separate lawsuit—the Callais case—was filed, and a lower federal court struck down Louisiana’s VRA-compliant map. Following that decision, the NRF-supported voters from the Galmon case, alongside the Robinson group, filed an emergency stay request with the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court granted that request. This kept Louisiana’s VRA-compliant map in place for the 2024 election, which allowed Louisianans to elect two Black Members of Congress to represent their state simultaneously for the first time in almost three decades. 

In March 2025, oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais took place before the U.S. Supreme Court, and, leading up to that day, the NRF filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Galmon Amici in support of Louisiana’s VRA-compliant map. However, in June 2025, the Court announced that the case would be re-argued during its next term. In early August, the Court directed the parties to submit supplemental briefing to address the question of whether the creation of a second Black opportunity district in Louisiana violates the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Subsequently, the Court scheduled oral argument in the rehearing of the case for October 15. In September, the NRF filed another amicus brief on behalf of the Galmon Amici asking the Court to uphold the constitutionality of Section 2 of the VRA and to permanently reinstate Louisiana’s VRA-compliant congressional map for the rest of the decade.

A stay on the lower federal court’s decision remains in place, which ensures that Louisiana’s VRA-compliant map remains in place at least until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in this case. To learn more about the NRF’s work, click here. 

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