Legal & Political Context - The Supreme Court is reviewing a case concerning Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voters from discrimination [1] - Section 2 is crucial because it remains operable after a key part of the Voting Rights Act was weakened in 2013 [5] - Section 2 is grounded in the 14th and 15th Amendments, aiming to prevent states from minimizing the power of minority voters through redistricting [8] Discrimination & Voting Rights - The NAACP Legal Defense Fund argued a Supreme Court case to protect minority voting rights [4] - Section 2 aims to ensure an equally open electoral process, preventing the cancellation or minimization of votes based on race [6][11] - Louisiana's congressional districts in 2022, despite a declining white electorate and an increasing black electorate, only provided equal opportunity for black Louisianans in one out of six districts [9] - There is evidence of severe racially polarized voting in Louisiana, contributing to the need for a fairer map [13] - Historically, black people in Louisiana have never been elected on a statewide basis, indicating potential systemic racism [12] Historical Significance - The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was essential to give black people the ability to exercise their right to vote, addressing the fact that the 15th Amendment was initially a "parchment promise" [16] - The Voting Rights Act is considered the birth certificate of a multi-racial democracy, a project that began in 1965 [18]

Democracy Index Performance - India's electoral process has historically outperformed regional peers in a democracy index [1] - India's democracy index score has been declining over the past decade [1]