Capture America: The Case that Could End Fair Representation

We’ve long known that democracies rarely fall in a single blow. They erode in increments — through the slow surrender of institutions and the normalization of power unchecked. Step 3 in the march toward autocracy is the most effective: capture of the very institutions meant to restrain power. When courts, legislatures, and agencies stop saying “no,” the people lose the power to say it, too.

In this phase, checks and balances transform into rubber stamps. Autocrats understand that consolidating control depends on silencing the other branches. If Congress fails to conduct oversight and courts stop enforcing the law, democracy ceases to function as a system of accountability. What follows is not governance — it’s submission.

That dynamic is now unfolding this week. The U.S. Supreme Court uncharacteristically reheard a case: Louisiana v. Callais — and their decision about representative voting power could reshape voting rights for generations and accelerate the authoritarian capture of American democracy. By ordering supplemental briefing and a rehearing — a rare move in the court’s history— the Supreme Court has already primed the legal community for a historic and unprecedented decision.

At the center of Callais is Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) — the last major safeguard against racially discriminatory political maps. For decades, Section 2 has protected communities of color from maps designed to weaken their voting power. It has been the tool by which courts have continued to dismantle Jim Crow–era tactics that persist today like splitting or “packing” Black and Brown neighborhoods to dilute their voices.

Now, the conservative justices who dominate the court are considering a radical argument: that using race to correct racial discrimination is itself unconstitutional. According to this absurdist argument, the 14th and 15th Amendments, which were enacted to protect civil rights, should be used to rob people of color of their political power. The cynicism of their reasoning suggests that centuries of social and economic discrimination has been solved in the barely 60 years of incremental progress. Under this logic, the very act of remedying racial bias is as harmful as the bias itself.

This reasoning, if accepted, would gut Section 2 entirely, taking the country back to a pre-1965 reality — one where racially discriminatory maps reign unchecked and single-party rule can be locked in indefinitely, rendering Congress a mirror image of the Russian Duma.

A new analysis from Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter lays bare what’s at stake:

• Gutting Section 2 could lock in 27 more safe Republican U.S. House seats, with at least 19 directly tied to the loss of its protections.

• Up to 30% of the Congressional Black Caucus and 11% of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus could lose their seats.

• The ripple effects would reach every level of government, from city councils to school boards, transforming local democracy into a partisan machine.

If Section 2 falls, Republicans’ long-term gerrymandering strategy will cement single-party control for a generation — the precise outcome autocrats seek and ensure the power grab of Step 10: the end of free and fair elections. Electoral contests would persist in form but not in substance; citizens could still vote, but their votes would no longer determine power.

This moment didn’t arise by accident. For decades, those opposed to a pluralistic democracy have pursued a deliberate strategy to control the courts and dismantle voting rights. GOP mapmaker Thomas Hofeller crafted redistricting plans designed to advantage “Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.” Meanwhile, Leonard Leo — the conservative architect of judicial capture — used a $1.6 billion dark-money network to reshape the judiciary.

The Supreme Court’s conservative Republican-appointed majority has already repeatedly advanced this project. Decisions like Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and Brnovich v. DNC (2021) stripped away key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, joining Common Cause v. Rucho (2016), which validated partisan gerrymandering. Louisiana v. Callais takes this to the next level, moving to excise what’s left of any federal protection for fair representation. Shelby gave the green light for discriminatory voting rule changes, and Brnovich made it harder to challenge these new laws, of which there are many. Callais would be the final blow, ending the belated protections that have temporarily guaranteed full citizenship to voters of color.

Step 3 is how they do it. Presidents and Congresses come and go. Courts do not. Federal judges serve for life, and once they are politicized, the damage endures. That’s why authoritarians target the judiciary: it is the most durable instrument of control. Capture the courts, and you can change the meaning of democracy itself. We are already seeing the results. The judiciary’s recent decisions have restricted bodily autonomy, weakened voting access, and redefined fairness as partisanship.

Step 10 is their aim. If Callais succeeds fully, elections will continue to occur — but their outcomes will be predetermined. Representation will be hollowed out, and accountability will disappear. Independent elections are the last line of defense against authoritarianism. Without fair maps, citizens in a democratic republic lose the ability to hold leaders accountable.

The path forward is narrow but clear and part of the 10 Steps to Freedom and Power:

• Share: Raise awareness by sharing what’s at stake in Louisiana v. Callais. Republicans in support of this authoritarian regime are counting on silence.

• Disrupt: Show up to rallies like the ones at the Supreme Court this week or the No Kings Protest this upcoming weekend.

• Engage: Call your local leaders and state representatives, and ask them to join you in calling on Congress to demand passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. All elected officials, regardless of their position, should also be challenged to exercise their oversight authority to hold bad actors in our courts accountable.

• Demand: Defend the independence for our most sacred institutions – legislators, journalists, and citizens alike must reject the politicization of oversight and the erosion of democratic norms.

Patriotic Americans must act boldly. Those who do have the power must redraw maps aggressively to counter gerrymanders — without weakening minority voting power, win back the House and Senate in 2026, and use their power to pass pro-democracy reforms.

If we lose Section 2 of the VRA, millions of Americans — particularly voters of color — will lose their most fundamental tool of accountability: the ballot. Democracy is already moving deeper into Step 10 of the authoritarian playbook, where elections become theater and power no longer changes hands.

But capture is not destiny. The same institutions that can be bent can be rebuilt — if we recognize the threat and act before it’s too late.

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