U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, that recent rulings by the court’s conservative majority have undermined American democracy and increased political polarization. Speaking to students at Catholic University’s law school, Kagan criticized decisions related to partisan gerrymandering and campaign finance, arguing that the court has failed to account for the real-world consequences of its legal interpretations.
The remarks follow several 6-3 decisions split along ideological lines. In April 2026, the court’s conservative majority ruled to eliminate a pillar of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, leading to the removal of several majority-Black congressional districts in the South. In June 2026, the court struck down a cap on the amount of money political parties can spend on campaigns in coordination with candidates. Kagan also referenced a 2019 decision that prohibited federal courts from policing partisan gerrymandering.
Kagan stated that these rulings have encouraged both political parties to engage in a "race to the bottom" by redrawing electoral maps to favor their own candidates. She noted that Republican-led Texas and Democratic-led California have both reconfigured maps recently to target seats held by the opposing party. Kagan argued that these practices push candidates toward political extremes because their primary concern becomes avoiding challenges from within their own party rather than appealing to the general electorate.
The scale of these changes is reflected in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections, where control of Congress is at stake. The redistricting prompted by the court's 2026 rulings has already altered the maps that will determine the composition of the House of Representatives. By allowing states to "turn all red or all blue," the court's precedent on gerrymandering impacts the voting equality of entire state populations, making districts less competitive and potentially reducing the impact of individual votes in general elections.
Looking forward, these rulings set a precedent that limits the ability of federal courts to intervene in how districts are drawn or how campaign funds are spent. The immediate effect will be seen in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, where the Justice Department plans to deploy approximately 1,000 monitors—triple the number of the previous midterm—to oversee voting across all 50 states. While the court has finished its current term's major rulings on these issues, the practical effects on voter access and candidate selection will continue through the 2026 and 2028 election cycles.