The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision weakening a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act could dramatically reshape political power not only in Congress, but also in state legislatures, county commissions, city councils, school boards, and even local courts across the country.
Much of the national conversation has focused on how the ruling could affect congressional districts ahead of the 2026 elections. But legal experts and voting rights advocates say the deeper and longer-lasting impact may happen closer to home — particularly in Southern states where many Black elected officials serve in majority-Black districts created under the Voting Rights Act.
The court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais severely weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark civil rights law passed in 1965 to prevent racial discrimination in voting. For decades, Section 2 allowed courts to require states and local governments to draw districts that gave Black and other minority voters a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
Now, critics fear states and local governments will have far more freedom to redraw political maps in ways that dilute minority voting power.
“This is not just about Congress,” said Davante Lewis, a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission and one of the plaintiffs connected to the Louisiana redistricting fight. “This affects who serves on school boards, city councils, county commissions, and state courts.”
The impact could be especially significant in the South, where many Black elected officials represent districts created specifically to ensure minority communities had representation after decades of discrimination and voter suppression.
Voting rights groups Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund estimate Republicans could potentially gain more than 190 seats in Southern state legislatures if majority-Black districts are weakened or eliminated in future redistricting battles. Many of those seats are currently held by Black lawmakers.
At the local level, the effects could also be widespread. City councils, county boards, and school boards often rely on district maps similar to those used in congressional races. Without strong federal protections, local governments could redraw district lines in ways that reduce the political influence of Black neighborhoods or divide minority communities among several districts.
Legal experts say officials may increasingly justify those changes as partisan rather than racial decisions because partisan gerrymandering remains largely legal under federal law.
That distinction worries voting rights advocates.
“Legislatures can now say they’re targeting political parties, not race, even when the impact falls heavily on Black voters,” said Travis Crum, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies voting rights and redistricting.
Some Republican leaders across the country are already calling for maps to be redrawn following the ruling. Meanwhile, several Democratic-led states are exploring state-level voting rights protections to preserve minority representation.
Ten states currently have their own state voting rights laws, but most Southern states do not.
Critics warn the ruling could weaken the pipeline that has helped Black leaders move from local office to state and national leadership positions. Supporters of the ruling argue districts should be drawn without considering race.
Either way, experts say the full impact of the decision may not become clear until the next round of redistricting after the 2030 Census — when battles over political maps are expected to intensify nationwide.