Is Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act Unconstitutional?

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Bradley Smith of Capital University Law School and Nicholas Stephanopoulos of Harvard Law School join to discuss the history and future of racial gerrymandering, including how the Court’s upcoming decision in Louisiana v. Callais could affect the Voting Rights Act. Resources Louisiana v. Callais (2025) Allen v. Milligan (2023) Shelby County v. Holder (2013) Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Aligning Election Law (2024) Bradley Smith, Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform (2001) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	On August 1st, the Supreme Court ordered the parties in Louisiana v. Calais to file briefs on a new question,
0:07.0	whether Louisiana's intentional creation of a second-majority-minority congressional district violates the Constitution.
0:17.7	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:22.6	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:26.6	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress,
0:31.6	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:35.6	This week we'll discuss the history and future
0:38.5	of racial and partisan gerrymandering, including how the court's upcoming decision in Louisiana
0:43.6	v. Calais could affect the Voting Rights Act. To help us unpack these important topics, we have
0:48.9	two of the leading scholars on election law. Brad Smith is the Josiah H. Blackmore
0:55.0	the second, Shirley M. Nalt,
0:57.2	professor of law at Capitol University Law School.
1:00.1	He served on the Federal Election Commission
1:01.8	from 2000 through 2005,
1:04.4	including as the commission's chairman
1:05.8	during the presidential election year of 2004.
1:09.2	Brad, it's wonderful to welcome you back to We the People.
1:12.2	Thank you, Jeff. Nice to see you. And Nicholas Stephanopoulos is the Kirkland and Ellis Professor
1:16.9	of Law at Harvard Law School, a scholar at the forefront of election law and democratic theory.
1:21.8	Nick is the author of Aligning Election Law and has been involved in several cases about
1:26.1	partisan gerrymandering.
1:29.6	Nick, it's wonderful to welcome you back to We the People.
	...

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