Supreme Court Weakens Voting Rights Act

0:00The Supreme Court just gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act, the law that shielded minority voters from discrimination for 60 years. In a Louisiana redistricting case, the conservative majority ruled that Section 2 now demands proof of intentional racial bias to challenge unfair. Maps. That raises the bar sky high for lawsuits, basically limiting the law to outright discrimination cases. This billed on the court's 2013 Shelby County decision, which killed the pre-clearance rule and sparked a wave of strict voting laws in. Several states, back in 1965, President Johnson signed the Act after bloody Sunday in Selma and it boosted black and Hispanic reps from city councils to Congress. Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm, saying this erodes minority voices on everything from schools to health care. Leaders warn it could pack or crack districts to dilute votes, echoing Jim Crow tactics and hitting local board's hardest. In Louisiana, it endangers Democratic rep Cleo Fields' seat.

1:01While in Alabama, new districts from last year's ruling now face tougher fights to survive, experts predict southern states will redraw maps fast to cut black congressional chances. With the act down to a shadow, minority communities brace for less say in who draws the lines and how power gets shared. That's the story for today. Durham News Today, driven by AI. I'm Cory with the story.