It’s only been a month since the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. But it has already had significant impact on the ongoing congressional election it was handed down in late April. While there is more to say about this decisions meaning, impact, and ramifications, I wanted to gather here the interviews I’ve done on the immediate meaning and the unfolding impact of the decision. Hopefully this commentary can help us think more about the impact of Callais as we watch the post-Voting Rights Act world unfold.
On the day of the decision, for National Public Radio, I provided comment for their April 29 Politics Podcast, the reporting on April 30 on Up First and Morning Edition as well as the April 29 web article reporting by Hansi Lo Wang regarding the immediate impact of the decision. It was a pleasure to talk to Mr. Wang and to follow his continuing reporting on this issue.
For the WGN Radio Podcast “Legal Face Off with Rich Lenkov and Tina Martini,” I had the opportunity to do an explainer with them about Callais and its impact on the current (and extraordinary) mid-decade redistricting cycle that’s ongoing. I enjoyed my fast-paced conversation with the Face-Off crew and look forward to more discussions.
And for CNN, I had the pleasure to be interviewed by Kim Brunhuber on May 2 for the CNN-International hour to discuss the developing efforts by some states to redistrict post-Callais. Though it was an early interview, we had the important opportunity to discuss redistricting developments mere hours after they occurred.
I’m grateful to these media outlets for the opportunity to discuss the impact and developing controversies around Callais. And as I suggested earlier, there is more to say for both academic, media, and public outlets, including the in-depth conversation I had with the Urban League of Cleveland Young Professionals, the lecture I gave to the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers, and my own previous commentary for the Oxford Human Rights Hub on redistricting. I will write more via their platform–and on atibaellis.com–soon.
Atiba Ellis 