April 29, 2026
NEWARK – The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice issued the following statement today in response to the United States Supreme Court’s 6 – 3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
The following statement can be attributed to Nuzhat Chowdhury, Director of the Democracy & Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice:
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a devastating blow to the very heart of our democracy and a direct attack on the political power of Black and Brown voters.
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) didn’t just protect the ballot; it gave courts the power to tear down maps that diluted the power of Black and Brown voters. Until today, Section 2 of the VRA ensured that if a map was shown to be racially biased, judges could consider race in the fix.
“Today’s decision effectively strips the courts of that tool – making it nearly impossible to rectify inequality in redrawing our districts.
“While the Supreme Court majority opinion claims that Section 2 has not been struck down, the impact of the ruling is that it has, as Justice Elena Kagan said in her dissenting opinion, effectively eviscerated the law.
“Decades of precedent and the lived reality of a system of racial discrimination have been completely dismissed by the Court.
“In Callais, the Court has not simply struck down a congressional map – it has rendered the voices of Black voters disposable – open to dilution under the pretext of partisan proceduralism.
“However, we remain undeterred. While today’s ruling is a shattering setback, it’s also a direct call to action.
“If the federal government will not protect the voters, we must double down efforts at the state level. In the wake of this shameful court ruling, New Jersey and other states, must seize the moment and fight back by adopting voting rights acts into state law.
“We will continue to fight for the passage of the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey – our own New Jersey voting rights act – to ensure that our state is a firewall against the national erosion of civil rights.”
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