The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 30, 2025

We’re looking back at our most important stories of 2025, and what changes to expect for American democracy in 2026.  If you’re a voter, it’s been a tough year.   If you’re a minority voter, it’s been a really BAD year.

After a federal district court found that the Louisiana legislature had racially gerrymandered the state’s congressional maps, it mandated two majority-minority districts to give Louisiana’s 33% Black population a chance to elect a candidate of their choice. Such accommodation is allowed under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Section 2.  But a group of, QUOTE, “non-African American voters” appealed, claiming such districts violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, among other complaints.

Oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais were heard in March 2025, but the conservative justices asked for more briefs and oral arguments in October.  This time, it was apparent that the court is poised to strike down 60 years of Congressional support and court precedent and neutralize Section 2’s protections of minority voters.  Without those protections, expect widespread dilution of African American, Hispanic, and Native American voting districts, and a loss of minority representation in Congress and state government.  

A 2024 high court decision made racial gerrymandering much harder to prove and impacted this year’s Trump gerrymandering arms race.    More on that tomorrow.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – (October)  In a Big Week for Voting Rights, U.S Supreme Court Hears More Arguments in Louisiana vs. Callais.  VRA Protections for Minority Voters are at Stake.
American Democracy Minute – (March) US Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments March 24th in Louisiana v. Callais with Protections for Minority Voters Hanging in the Balance
SCOTUS Blog – Louisiana v. Callais
Ballotpedia – Majority-minority districts
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – What’s at Stake in Louisiana v. Callais
Brennan Center for Justice – Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court

Groups Taking Action:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

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#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #MajorityMinority #VRASection2 #VotingRights #RacialGerrymandering #VRA

The post American Democracy in 2025:   The SCOTUS Case Which May End 60 Years of Protection for Minority Voters appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 25, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision will likely be released early next year, and its rehearing in October was one of the big voting rights stories of the year.   Brian is off for a couple of days, so we’re rebroadcasting this story from October.   Happy holidays!

The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to agree Oct. 15th with arguments that the Voting Rights Act Section 2’s majority-minority voting districts conflicted with the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.  A decision is expected next year. 

Chief Justice John Roberts signaled that the court’s 2023 Milligan precedent – a very similar case – may not apply to Louisiana vs. Callais.  Justice Kagan later pointed out the court rejected several similar arguments by the State of Alabama defending its discrimination. 

Louisiana argued that court-mandated majority-minority districts giving minority voters an equal chance to elect a candidate of their choice, puts the state in a position to discriminate against other voters.

Justices Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett both voiced support for an “end point” to sunset such opportunity districts.  The court’s Gingles Test, used to determine if a group qualifies for such a district, was also questioned by the conservative justices. 

In her opening argument, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Janai Nelson said that should the court strike down Section 2, it would be a QUOTE  “. . . a staggering reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”  There are 148 VRA majority minority districts in 28 states, according to BallotPedia. 

We linked a transcript of the arguments at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais:  Protecting fair representation for Black voters in Louisiana and safeguarding the Voting Rights Act
U.S. Supreme Court – Transcript of Oral Arguments in Louisiana v. Callais
Supreme Court Oral Arguments – Audio with transcript on Louisiana v. Callais
SCOTUS Blog – Court appears ready to curtail major provision of the Voting Rights Act
BallotPedia – Majority Minority Districts

Groups Taking Action:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #USSupremeCourt #SCOTUS #Louisiana #LouisianavCallais #RacialGerrymandering, #VotingRightsAct #VRA 

The post Outlook for the Voting Rights Act Dims, as Court’s Conservatives Appear to Turn Away From Their Own Precedent appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Nov. 24, 2025

As congressional candidates get ready for the 2026 midterms, the districts in which they run are still in limbo, waiting for the outcomes of two important racial gerrymandering cases in Texas and Louisiana.

Nov. 18th, a three-judge federal panel ruled 2-1 that the Texas legislature racially gerrymandered its 2025 maps to deliver five more GOP congressional seats at President Donald Trump’s request.  The Trump-appointed judge in the case said QUOTE “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”

Nov. 21st,  the State of Texas appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, noting the state’s candidate filing deadline of December 6th. That night, Justice Samuel Alito granted a temporary stay on the lower court’s order, and requested responses from the parties by Monday, Nov. 24th. A decision could come within days or weeks.  

Also pending, and even more consequential, is the high court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, argued on Oct. 15th.  In that case, congressional maps which followed the Voting Rights Act Section 2 statutes and restored African American majority minority districts were challenged as a violation of the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th Amendment.   Should the high court agree with Louisiana, the state’s congressional districts could strip Black voting power, and  remaining VRA protections could be neutralized nationwide, eliminating 60 years of precedent.

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – Trump-Requested Texas Congressional District Gerrymandering Blocked by Federal Court Panel 
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas – El Paso – MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
U.S. Supreme Court – Appeal by State of Texas  in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott
Texas Tribune – Supreme Court temporarily restores Texas’ new congressional map
NPR – Redistricting deadlines for the midterms loom as states wait for a Supreme Court ruling
American Democracy Minute – Outlook for the Voting Rights Act Dims, as Court’s Conservatives Appear to Turn Away From Their Own Precedent 

SCOTUSBlog – (2021) Alito blasts media for portraying shadow docket in “sinister” terms

Groups Taking Action:

LULAC, MALDEF, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Texas #Louisiana #LouisianaVCallais #RacialGerrymandering #FairMaps #VRA #VotingRightsAct

The post With Candidates Ready to File, SCOTUS Temporarily Blocks Ruling on Texas Racial Gerrymandering, Louisiana Gerrymandering Decision Still Pending appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 17, 2025

The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to agree Oct. 15th with arguments that the Voting Rights Act Section 2’s majority-minority voting districts conflicted with the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.  A decision is expected next year. 

Chief Justice John Roberts signaled that the court’s 2023 Milligan precedent – a very similar case – may not apply to Louisiana vs. Callais.  Justice Kagan later pointed out the court rejected several similar arguments by the State of Alabama defending its discrimination. 

Louisiana argued that court-mandated majority-minority districts giving minority voters an equal chance to elect a candidate of their choice, puts the state in a position to discriminate against other voters.

Justices Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett both voiced support for an “end point” to sunset such opportunity districts.  The court’s Gingles Test, used to determine if a group qualifies for such a district, was also questioned by the conservative justices. 

In her opening argument, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Janai Nelson said that should the court strike down Section 2, it would be a QUOTE  “. . . a staggering reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”  There are 148 VRA majority minority districts in 28 states, according to BallotPedia. 

We linked a transcript of the arguments at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais:  Protecting fair representation for Black voters in Louisiana and safeguarding the Voting Rights Act
U.S. Supreme Court – Transcript of Oral Arguments in Louisiana v. Callais
Supreme Court Oral Arguments – Audio with transcript on Louisiana v. Callais 
SCOTUS Blog – Court appears ready to curtail major provision of the Voting Rights Act
BallotPedia – Majority Minority Districts

Groups Taking Action:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #USSupremeCourt #SCOTUS #Louisiana #LouisianavCallais #RacialGerrymandering, #VotingRightsAct #VRA 

The post Outlook for the Voting Rights Act Dims, as Court’s Conservatives Appear to Turn Away From Their Own Precedent appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 15, 2025

Oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais are scheduled for October 15th in the U.S. Supreme Court, with interpretation of the 14th and 15th amendments under debate, and the Voting Rights Act in the balance. 

The 14th Amendment enshrined civil and legal rights of formerly enslaved Americans.  Section 1 says in part:  “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” And in what became known as the Equal Protection Clause, “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”   

The 15th Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”  But Black, Native and other minority voters faced another 100 years of discrimination before Congress enforced it with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  

President Lyndon Johnson told Congress:    

“Our fathers believed that if this noble view of the rights of man was to flourish, it must be rooted in democracy. The most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders. The history of this country, in large measure, is the history of the expansion of that right to all of our people.”

Find a live stream link for the Oct. 15th, 10 AM arguments at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Listen to the U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments from Wednesday, Oct. 15

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

National Archives – 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)
National Archives – 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)
National Archives – Voting Rights Act (1965)
Brennan Center for Justice – The Voting Rights Act Explained

NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais:  Protecting fair representation for Black voters in Louisiana and safeguarding the Voting Rights Act
Voices of Democracy Project – Transcript of LYNDON B. JOHNSON, “WE SHALL OVERCOME” (15 MARCH 1965) Speech to Congress
LBJ Library – Video of Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise [on the Voting Rights Act], 3/15/65 (Also known as his “We Shall Overcome” speech)

Groups Taking Action:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #14thAmendment #15thAmendment #VotingRightsAct #LBJ #EqualProtectionClause #LouisianavCallais #FairMaps #VotingRights

The post The Oct. 15 Louisiana v. Callais Voting Rights Case Depends on the Interpretation of the 14th & 15th Amendments. What Do They Say? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.