Photo: Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Justice Elena Kagan said on Oct. 20 that voting and election rulings by her conservative colleagues have helped make the country more polarized. She spoke about two weeks before the midterm elections.
Justice Elena Kagan, one of the Supreme Court’s three liberal justices, said on Oct. 20 that recent election rulings by the court’s conservative majority have made the country more politically polarized, according to The Hill and WDSU.
Roughly two weeks ahead of the midterm elections that would decide which party controls Congress, she addressed students and faculty at the law school of Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Kagan said the court had “blinded itself” to the harmful effects of its rulings, according to The Hill. She criticized decisions that weakened the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance rules.
According to The Hill, she was talking about a 6-3 ruling from late June that overturned federal caps on coordinated campaign spending. She was among the dissenters in that case.
She also cited an earlier ruling this year that made it harder to challenge congressional districts as racial gerrymanders. According to The Hill, that ruling set off mid-cycle redistricting, mainly in Southern states. Kagan dissented there too.
On campaign money, she said:
“all this money chasing all these political candidates is a nightmare, and they’re right.”
Kagan said both parties have joined a “race to the bottom” on partisan gerrymanders in recent years, according to WDSU.
WDSU reported that conservatives on the court have ruled that key campaign finance regulations violate free speech. It also reported the majority held in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering claims are political disputes federal courts cannot resolve.
Kagan also said it is unfair to claim the majority reflexively backs President Donald Trump. She pointed to tariffs, birthright citizenship and mail ballots as areas where the court has not sided with him.
The Hill said Kagan is in her 16th year on the court.
What it means for you
- The midterm elections are in November, and the new campaign spending ruling and redrawn maps will shape the races.
- Federal limits on coordinated campaign spending were struck down in a 6-3 ruling in late June, according to The Hill.
- Several Southern states redrew congressional districts mid-cycle after this year’s ruling on racial gerrymandering claims, according to The Hill.
- Kagan said the court has ruled against Trump on tariffs, birthright citizenship and mail ballots.