In an unexpected affirmation of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court ruled this month that congressional voting maps in Alabama would dilute the power of Black voters.

University of Michigan political science professor Jowei Chen, affiliated with the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research, was cited throughout the Supreme Court’s Alabama opinion. His work with Harvard Law’s Nicholas Stephanopolous—an amicus brief submitted in the case and their Yale Law Journal article on “The Race-Blind Future of Voting Rights”—provided a critical evidence base for the decision.

The decision in Allen v. Milligan (PDF) specifically affirmed the existing approach to Section 2 litigation that allows race to be considered in determining whether a districting plan discriminates against minority voters.

In the case from Alabama, where Black voters account for 27% of the population but figured as the majority in just one of seven districts on the state’s new congressional map, voting rights advocates had feared the Supreme Court would accept Alabama’s proposed “race-blind” benchmark and undermine the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Instead, Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in the 5-to-4 ruling upholds Section 2 and requires that Alabama create a second House district in which Black voters will have the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.

Chen and Stephanopolous’ amicus brief made three key points: First, it showed that Black and...

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