Senator Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is calling for Democrats to investigate officials whom he alleges have "manipulated their maps to silence the voices of Black voters" once the party regains control of the House or Senate. Warnock outlined his proposed actions in a plan reviewed by ABC News, stating that upon regaining power, Democrats must "investigate craven politicians, ban partisan gerrymandering, stop billionaires from buying our elections, expand our democracy and guarantee the right to vote for all Americans."
The Georgia Democrat's call comes as a federal court in Louisiana found that a post-2020 congressional map, which included only one majority-Black district despite Black residents comprising roughly one-third of the state's population, likely diluted Black voting power. In response to similar court findings, state legislatures have redrawn maps. Justice Samuel Alito, in authoring the Supreme Court's opinion in Louisiana v. Callais, stated that states violate the Voting Rights Act when "evidence supports a strong inference that the State intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race."
Republicans have contended that their map redrawing efforts are intended to comply with Supreme Court rulings or to rectify unfairly drawn districts, and that some of the potentially altered districts may still elect Black representatives.
Warnock described the Supreme Court's Callais decision as an "inflection point" for him to advocate for investigations into officials accused of gerrymandering to diminish minority representation. His plan specifies that a Democratic majority in either chamber should "immediately investigate these officials, including through Congressional hearings, document requests, depositions, testimony, and, if necessary, subpoenas." The aim, according to the plan, is to "analyze their statements, actions, and contributions to determine if there is any evidence that they broke any laws in their race to gerrymander and silence Black voices."
When questioned about whether Democrats involved in partisan gerrymandering, such as in California, should also face investigation, Warnock drew a distinction. He referenced Texas's redistricting efforts following actions by former President Donald Trump. "There's a significant difference between that and an open process in which Californians got to vote," Warnock told ABC News. "This was not done in a smoky, dark room. They had a referendum. Again, if I had my druthers, there would be no gerrymandering."
Warnock noted that currently, only 22 of the 435 congressional districts in the U.S. are considered winnable by either a Democrat or a Republican, a situation he called "a sad state of affairs."
He also indicated that he has consistently urged his party to prioritize voting rights since his election. In 2021, Warnock reportedly advocated for voting rights legislation to be prioritized alongside the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He also attempted to persuade former Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to amend the filibuster to enable the passage of voting rights legislation, arguing their importance superseded procedural rules. "I said to my caucus then, as the newcomer, that I was afraid that if we don't do something... we would cross a Rubicon in this country that we wouldn't be able to get back," Warnock recalled, adding, "I said that then, and sadly, it didn't get done."
Looking forward, Warnock proposed that if Democrats gain control of even one chamber of Congress, the party should break up elements of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and "force everybody to vote on it."