Your Vote Is Under Attack.Here’s What’s Happening.
A plain-language guide to the Callais ruling and what it means for all of us
Let’s Start with the Basics
You have the right to vote. That right should be equal for everyone, no matter the color of your skin. For sixty years, a law called the Voting Rights Act helped make sure that was true.
On April 29, 2026, the United States Supreme Court made a decision that seriously weakened that law. The case is called Louisiana v. Callais — and even if you’ve never heard of it, it is already changing your life and the lives of millions of Americans.
Let’s break it down simply.
What Is a Voting District?
Think of your neighborhood. Now imagine that every 10 years, the government draws lines around groups of neighborhoods and says, “All the people inside these lines share one representative in Congress.”
That’s a voting district. The person your district elects goes to Washington and speaks up for your community — for your schools, your roads, your healthcare, your jobs.
Here’s the problem: the people who draw those lines can cheat. They can move the lines to make sure certain communities — especially Black communities — don’t have enough votes to elect someone who represents them. That’s called gerrymandering, and it’s been used to silence Black voters for over 150 years.
The Voting Rights Act was supposed to stop that. Now, the Supreme Court has made it much harder to use that law to fight back.
What Did the Court Actually Do?
Here’s the simple version:
Before this ruling, if politicians drew a map that made it nearly impossible for Black voters to elect someone who represented them, those voters could go to court and say, “This map hurts us because of our race.” And they could win.
Now? The court made it much, much harder. Politicians can draw those same unfair lines — but as long as they say, “We did it for political reasons, not racial ones,” the law can’t easily stop them.
“The more racist you are as a party, the more insulated you are from the Voting Rights Act under this decision.”
— Justin Levitt, Loyola Law School
Justice Elena Kagan, one of the three judges who disagreed with the ruling, said it plainly: the Voting Rights Act is now “all but a dead letter” in the places that need it most.
What Happened Right After the Ruling?
The answer will make you angry. Within days, Republican governors and legislators in several states called emergency meetings. Their goal: redraw the maps before November’s election to make it nearly impossible for Black communities to elect their own representatives.
Tennessee — Memphis Was Cut to Pieces
Memphis, Tennessee is a majority-Black city. For generations, its residents elected a representative who looked like them and understood their lives. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Tennessee legislature drew a new map that split Memphis into three pieces — each piece attached to a surrounding white, Republican-leaning area. Memphis’s voice in Congress was erased. As people protested in tears, some Republican lawmakers were photographed laughing.
Alabama — Fighting a Court Order
Alabama had already been ordered by the Supreme Court — just three years ago — to draw a fair map that gave Black voters a real voice. After the new ruling, Alabama’s governor and attorney general raced back to court to undo that order. On May 11, 2026, the Supreme Court let them proceed. The protection that took years of legal battles to win may now be taken away in weeks.
Louisiana — Stopped Voting Mid-Election
Louisiana actually suspended its own election after ballots had already gone out to voters. They stopped the vote in the middle of voting — so they could redraw the map and erase a district where Black voters had real power.
South Carolina — Going After James Clyburn
Congressman James Clyburn is 85 years old and has served in Congress for over 30 years. He is one of the most powerful Black voices in American government. South Carolina’s legislature is now working to redraw his district in a way that would likely end his ability to win reelection. They are coming for him specifically.
Florida — Ignoring What Voters Said
In 2010, Florida voters voted — by a huge margin — to make partisan gerrymandering illegal in their state. They put it right in the state constitution. Governor DeSantis and the Florida legislature looked at that voter-approved law and ignored it anyway. They redrew the map to help Republicans win more seats. Their own lawyers admitted the new map breaks the state’s constitution. They did it anyway.
Virginia: When Three Million Voters Were Ignored
Here is a story that should stop you cold.
In April 2026, over three million people in Virginia voted on a referendum. A referendum is when regular citizens get to vote directly on an important question — not just on who represents them, but on the rules themselves. The question was about redrawing Virginia’s voting districts more fairly.
The people voted YES. More than half of Virginia’s voters said they wanted the change.
A week later, the Virginia Supreme Court threw the whole vote out. They said the politicians who put the question on the ballot made a technical mistake in how they followed the rules. So the votes of three million people were declared null and void — like they never happened.
The state had spent $5.2 million holding that election. Outside groups spent nearly $100 million informing voters. And it was all erased by a court decision.
“More than three million Virginians cast their ballots. They made their voices heard.”
— Virginia Governor Gretchen Spanberger
What Does This Mean for Maryland and Queen Anne’s County?
Maryland is not one of the states currently redrawing maps to hurt Black voters. We have a Democratic governor and a legislature that — for now — is working to protect voting rights. But “for now” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
The Good News: Maryland Just Passed a State Voting Rights Act
One day before the Supreme Court’s ruling — just 24 hours before — Governor Wes Moore signed the Maryland Voting Rights Act of 2026 into law. Maryland became the 10th state in the country to create its own voting rights protections.
What does it do? It says that in Maryland’s counties and cities, no one can set up rules that make it harder for communities of color to vote or to elect someone who represents them. And it gives any Maryland resident the right to take that to court if it happens.
The Honest Truth: It’s Not Enough on Its Own
Maryland’s new law only covers local and county elections. It doesn’t cover state or federal ones. And it doesn’t protect us from what could happen after the next census in 2030, if the political balance in Maryland ever shifts.
Right now, if Republicans were to gain control of Maryland’s government after 2030, they could use the weakened federal Voting Rights Act — under the new Callais rules — to redraw maps that dilute the power of Black voters in Baltimore, Prince George’s County, and beyond.
And here on the Eastern Shore? When Black communities in other states lose their congressional voice, the ripple effects reach all of us. The federal funding, the committee assignments, the policy priorities — all of it shifts when Black representation is erased. This is not just their fight. It is ours.
What Can YOU Do?
Congressman John Lewis used to say that the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have. Here is how to use it — and how to protect it.
① Check Your Registration
Make sure you are registered to vote in Maryland. Go to elections.maryland.gov right now and check. The deadline to register for the June 23 primary is June 3. Do it today. Then call a family member and ask them to check too.
② Vote in the June 23 Primary
Queen Anne’s County has Democratic primary races on the ballot June 23. Primary elections are how we choose who represents us in the general election. Low turnout means extremism wins. Your vote here matters more than you might think.
③ Tell Congress to Restore the Voting Rights Act
Congress has the power to fix what the Supreme Court broke. A bill called the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would do exactly that. Call your U.S. representative and your senators. Tell them you want this law passed. A five-minute phone call matters.
④ Register Someone Else
The most powerful answer to a rigged map is an overwhelming turnout. Every person you help register is a vote that cannot be taken away by redrawing lines. Help a neighbor. Help a young person voting for the first time. Help a family member who’s given up on voting. Bring them back.
⑤ Join the National Day of Action
Civil rights groups are organizing a John Lewis Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action on July 17–19. It is a national mobilization to register voters and energize communities before November. The Good Trouble Circle will be there. We hope you will be too.
⑥ Share This with Someone Who Needs It
Not everyone follows the news. Not everyone knows what just happened. That’s why you’re reading this — so you can be the person who explains it to someone else. Share this. Print it out. Read it at your next church meeting, your next civic gathering, your next family dinner.
Here Is the Bottom Line.
They are redrawing the maps because they cannot win a fair fight.
They are throwing out voter referendums because they know the people are not with them.
They are weakening the Voting Rights Act because they know — they know — how much power your vote carries when you use it.
John Lewis was beaten on a bridge in Selma, Alabama fighting for the same right that is under attack right now. He did not give up. He called what he did “good trouble.” He did it because he believed that ordinary people, standing together, could change the world.
He was right. And so can we.
Register. Vote. Bring everybody you know.
— In Good Trouble,
The Good Trouble Circle
Queen Anne’s County, Maryland | goodtroublecircle.org
Have questions? Need help registering? Contact us at goodtroublecircle.org
