Justice Kagan says Supreme Court majority has damaged democracy
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said the Supreme Court's conservative majority "got it wrong" on election rulings.
Her remarks came less than two weeks before midterms that decide control of Congress.
Background
Elena Kagan is one of the Supreme Court's three liberal justices, serving on a court with a 6-3 conservative majority. In remarks at Catholic University's law school in Washington, D.C., she criticized the majority's rulings on partisan gerrymandering, the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance, saying they had left a political system that "doesn't work as well as it should." The remarks landed less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as several states have redrawn congressional maps to favor the majority party, starting with Texas at President Donald Trump's urging and followed by others including California.
How it unfolded
- 2019The court ruled that federal courts could not intervene to limit extreme partisan gerrymandering, a decision Kagan cited as particularly harmful.
- Apr 29, 2026The Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the Voting Rights Act, which Kagan later cited.
- Jun 30, 2026The court loosened campaign finance restrictions, another ruling Kagan cited as damaging democracy.
- Sep 14, 2026In U.S. Postal Service v. California, the court declined to let the Postal Service carry out parts of its new mail-in voting rule; Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a short concurrence and Justice Samuel Alito an eight-page dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.
- Oct 20, 2026Kagan criticized the conservative majority's rulings in remarks at Catholic University's law school in Washington, D.C.
Who’s saying what
- Liberal
- Kagan said the court "got it wrong" partly from "a kind of lack of the appropriate concern or understanding of the consequences of their decisions," and that lopsided maps deny people "their rights to voting equality."
- Caution
- Kagan said both parties have engaged in "a race to the bottom" on partisan gerrymandering, calling such map-drawing "very destructive of our democracy."
- Defense
- Kagan defended the court against claims it is a rubber stamp for Trump, saying it is "deeply conservative" but in certain cases "definitely pushed back on the president."