Virginia expands voting rights and gerrymandering leaves millions of Black voters without representation — here’s what’s happening:
Welcome back to The Good, The Bad, The Ugly — your go-to source for the latest in voting rights. In Virginia, a federal court ruling is set to restore voting rights to thousands of Virginians with felony convictions. In Florida, the governor signed a new gerrymandered congressional map into law. And at the federal level, millions of Black voters are left without representation after the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling, opening the door for states across the South to pursue new maps that could weaken Black political power for years to come.
So, buckle up as we break down the wins, the setbacks, and the urgent fights ahead in the battle for our democracy.
The Good
A federal court ruling is set to restore voting rights to thousands of Virginians with felony convictions, marking one of the biggest voting rights expansions the state has seen in years. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Virginia’s current system of automatically taking away voting rights from anyone with a felony conviction violates post-Civil War laws that limit disenfranchisement to those convicted of specific common law crimes.
Virginia officials now have until June 1 to update voter registration systems ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
What’s next? This November, Virginia voters will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights after incarceration for people convicted of any felony, including those listed in post-Civil War laws.
The Bad
The Florida governor signed a new congressional map into law that could eliminate four Democrat-held congressional seats, even though Florida’s constitution bans partisan and racial gerrymandering. The redistricting effort started in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which many observers expected to make it more difficult to challenge maps like Florida’s under federal law.
What’s next? Voting rights groups and Florida voters quickly filed a lawsuit, arguing the new map violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which prohibits partisan and racial gerrymandering.
The Ugly
Beyond Florida, since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, states have responded with targeted attempts to take away representation from millions of Black voters in the South. The decision weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark provision designed to protect voters from racial discrimination.
Weakening federal protections against racial gerrymandering has opened the door for states like Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee to eliminate majority-Black districts, while states like Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina are pushing new maps that could further dilute Black voting power — not only in congressional elections, but in state and local races as well — threatening Black political power for generations to come.
What’s next? Pro-democracy groups continue to challenge efforts to target Black and Brown voters through litigation against redistricting that violates state laws prohibiting gerrymandering or requiring a fair process in developing congressional and legislative districts.