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Politics

How do changes to the Voting Rights Act affect people's ability to vote in America?

The Supreme Court just narrowed a landmark voting law for a nation that has never been more diverse — or more divided over who gets political power. Why it matters: The latest ruling lands in a more multiracial, more mobile country that looks nothing like it did in 1965, raising fresh questions about how voting protections apply to a rapidly evolving electorate. Catch up quick: The court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling on Wednesday effectively narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racially-discriminatory gerrymandering. Section 2 helped end Jim Crow laws and expanded voting protections for people of color across the South, particularly for Black Americans.A weakened Section 2 means fewer federal guardrails as states redraw political power. Zoom in: In 1965, about 85% of Americans were white. Today that share is closer to 59%, according to Census data. The multiracial population is one of the fastest-growing groups, surging by 276% between 2010 and 2020.Latino and Asian American populations have driven much of the nation's growth, reshaping political maps in states like Texas, Georgia and Arizona. Zoom out: The American South has become the center of population growth, gaining millions of new residents from other regions. Metro areas in Sun Belt states are booming — often in places with histories of voting rights battles.That shift is increasing the political stakes of redistricting in exactly the regions where the Voting Rights Act once had its strongest bite. What they're saying: "This decision is a profound betrayal of the legacy of the civil rights movement," Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called the ruling "a devastating blow" and "a license for corrupt politicians who want to rig the system."Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the majority opinion, wrote that lower courts have interpreted Section 2 in a way that "forces States to engage in the very race-ba

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Politics

How do you think redistricting affects political fairness and representation for all parties?

Data: Axios analysis of data from Dave's Redistricting and Redistricting Data Hub; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The redistricting war President Trump forced on his party appears to have backfired. With Virginia's vote Tuesday, Republicans are now favored in fewer House seats than if the war had never started. Why it matters: Trump bet his slim House majority on a mid-decade redrawing frenzy. It's increasingly looking like a self-inflicted wound, leaving Republicans with long-shot hopes of any major rewards. While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and his caucus celebrate their "[m]aximum warfare" win, a Florida showdown and pending Supreme Court decision give Republicans scant hopes to stanch the bleeding. The latest: A Virginia judge on the Tazewell Circuit Court temporarily blocked the state from certifying the referendum results in a decision the state's attorney general vowed to appeal. Between the lines: One way to measure the change is by overlaying the last two presidential elections on the old and new maps across the seven states that redrew lines. Using 2024 results, Kamala Harris would have carried six more seats than before redistricting, per an Axios analysis of data from Dave's Redistricting and the Redistricting Data Hub.Using 2020 results, Joe Biden would have carried two more. By the numbers: Virginia's new map could shift its delegation from 6–5 to 10–1 for Dems. The prospect of snagging up to four blue seats adds to redistricting pickups in California, where Dems could flip five, and Utah, now home to another more Democratic seat.Republican redistricting efforts, on the other hand, aim to grab up to five new seats in Texas, two in Ohio, one in North Carolina and one in Missouri.Sabato's Crystal Ball rates 217 districts as at least leaning Democratic, 205 as at least leaning Republican and 13 as toss-ups after Virginia's vote. What's next: Florida legislators will return to Tallahassee later this month for a delayed special session, ma

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Geopolitics

How can we encourage people to care more about peace in a world with so much conflict?

By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY, April 4 (Reuters) - Pope Leo led the world's Catholics into Easter at a Saturday night vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and urged people not to feel numbed by the scope of the conflicts raging across the world but to work for peace. Leo, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, said that mistrust and fear have been allowed to "sever the bonds between us through war, injustice and the isolation of peoples and nations."

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