Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder moderated a panel discussion on Thursday regarding voting rights and redistricting. The 2026 Hutchins Forum focused on legal and legislative issues related to the upcoming November midterm elections.
The event was organized by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. provided the introduction for the session, which was streamed live in coordination with PBS News.
Panelists included Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), election attorney Marc Elias, and NYU School of Law professor Melissa Murray. The discussion addressed the "balance of power" as it relates to court rulings and the process of redrawing legislative districts.
For the millions of Americans participating in the 2026 midterm elections, the outcomes of redistricting litigation and court decisions described by the panelists determine where they vote and which candidates appear on their ballots. While the forum did not report a specific dollar amount for these legal challenges, redistricting cases often involve significant state and federal resources and can alter the requirements for voter identification or mail-in ballots that individuals notice at their local polling places.
The panelists, representing legal and legislative perspectives, discussed how these rules will be applied in the upcoming November elections. The knock-on effects include how current court precedents will guide future voting laws and whether existing federal protections will remain in place for the 2028 general election. The next major milestone for voters is the November midterm election, where the impact of the redistricting and voting policies discussed will be observed at the polls.
What happens next: The November midterm elections will serve as the first major test for many of the redistricting and voting policies discussed during the forum. Future court dates and specific legislative deadlines regarding these issues were not reported in the session.