What SCOTUS ruling on Voting Rights Act could mean for California

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A decision by the Supreme Court about a congressional map in Louisiana could impact the way maps are drawn across the country, including in California.

"There could be new challenges to the districts that were drawn by both the redistricting commission, as well as through the voters in Prop. 50," said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor who runs the Safeguarding Democracy Project.

"There may be new lawsuits challenging local districts that were drawn," Hasen added. "For example, city council districts or school boards that were drawn in order to comply with the Voting Rights Act, and I think that the California Voting Rights Act could potentially be found unconstitutional by courts following the Supreme Court's decision."

The Louisiana map struck down was meant to address statewide racial disparities that were protected by the Voting Rights Act for the past 60 years. The Supreme Court's decision undermines that landmark civil rights law and could ultimately impact who controls Congress.

"Following today's ruling, state legislatures will look to manipulate maps and gut protections for Black voters in districts where Black voters and other voters of color are able to elect their preferred candidates," said Adam Lioz, a senior policy counsel at the Legal Defense Fund.

"That's why it's so important that voters fight back and state leaders fight back, and the best way to do that is to enact state-level voting rights acts across the country," Lioz said.

"This is probably good for Republicans nationally. In the short term, it might mean they are able to give themselves a couple more seats in the South, potentially in a way that will help them in November, though it probably won't stop Democrats from winning the House if the current trends hold," ABC News deputy political director Ben Siegel said.

"There's a lot of political incentive here for Republican states, for Democratic states, to revisit their map for maximum partisan gain... The gloves are off for 2028," Siegel said.

Although we're likely to see more redistricting fights like in California and Texas, uncertainty remains.

"Do the parties have the appetite for it? That's going to be one check on this," Siegel said. "The other check is going to be the political baseline, right? Nobody wants to redraw a map, and then have it backfire on the parties who draw it."

"I think this is going to be a rallying cry for Democrats, for minority voters, not only against the interpretation of the Voting Rights Act, but against the Republican justices on the Supreme Court as well," Hasen said.