WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan warned Tuesday that the court’s conservative majority has harmed American democracy through a pattern of rulings that weakened voting protections, expanded political spending and permitted partisan gerrymandering.
Speaking at the Catholic University of America’s law school in Washington, Kagan said the conservative bloc has repeatedly failed to weigh the real-world impact of its election-related decisions. The remarks, delivered during a forum just two weeks before the midterm elections, offered an unusually blunt assessment of the high court’s direction from one of its three liberal members.
“I do think in all these areas the court has blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works and has created a democracy that doesn’t work as well as it should,” Kagan said during a conversation with law professor J. Joel Alicea, according to NBC News and CNN.
Gerrymandering and Voting Rights Under Fire
Kagan focused much of her critique on the court’s 2019 decision that closed federal courthouses to claims of extreme partisan redistricting. Without judicial oversight, state legislatures have engaged in an unchecked push to draw noncompetitive congressional districts, Kagan argued.
She said the absence of judicial boundaries has pushed both major political parties into “a race to the bottom” that deprives citizens of equal voting power and fuels political polarization by shifting the focus of races almost entirely to partisan primaries. Kagan described map manipulation that leaves voters unable to choose their representatives as “very destructive of our democracy,” NBC News reported.
Kagan also criticized decisions rolling back key portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, including an April ruling involving Louisiana that provided state lawmakers more leeway to configure districts in ways that reduce minority voting influence. Following that decision, several states launched redistricting efforts ahead of the November election to enhance the electoral prospects of white Republican candidates, CNN reported.
Kagan likewise targeted the court’s steady dismantling of campaign finance limits, calling the flood of money into political campaigns an issue that rightly troubles ordinary citizens. “I think you know the people of America look around this political system and think that all this money, chasing all these political candidates, is a nightmare, and they’re right,” she said.
Executive Power and Partisan Independence
During the forum, Kagan expressed concern over a ruling from earlier this year granting President Donald Trump greater authority over independent federal regulatory agencies created by Congress, warning of the risk that a president could override other public institutions.
Despite her sharp dissents, Kagan defended the institution against assertions by critics on the left that the 6-3 conservative majority merely serves as a rubber stamp for Trump. She highlighted several decisions in which the administration did not prevail, pointing specifically to the court’s rejection of his sweeping tariff proposals.
While acknowledging the bench remains “deeply conservative,” Kagan emphasized that the justices have “definitely pushed back on the president” in key disputes, NBC News reported.
With redistricting fights and voting challenges continuing to move through the legal pipeline, Kagan conceded she expects to remain in the minority on election law disputes for the immediate future.
