Several conservative Supreme Court justices appear open to narrowing Voting Rights Act protections

Several of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Tuesday seemed open to raising the legal bar for challenging electoral maps under the Voting Rights Act, which could have the effect of narrowing protections for voters of color.

During oral argument, the court’s conservatives wrestled with what legal test should apply to determine whether the mismatch between Alabama’s Black population and its representation in Congress amounts to illegal discrimination.

Although the Republican-appointed justices’ questions fell well short of telegraphing a clear outcome, the Supreme Court earlier this year granted an emergency ruling in the case for Alabama Republicans, and over the last decade has steadily reined in the sweep of federal voting protections.