The nation is still reckoning with a Supreme Court decision last week that critics say renders a key aspect of the Voting Rights Act useless.

The court ruled that Louisiana illegally used race in the way it drew its district map. 

It has wider implications for how all such maps are drawn. Some states, including Florida, have already moved to change their maps. This is all happening mere months before the midterm elections. 

KUOW's Paige Browning talked with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams about her take on the decision, about her opinion on voter apathy and why she stepped back from the national stage.

Guest

Stacey Abrams, lawyer, former Georgia Democratic state legislator, founder of the American Pride Rises Network and the 10 Steps Campaign

Related Links

Louisiana v. Callais - Supreme Court decision

Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map, Another Blow to Voting Rights Act - The New York Times

Stacey Abrams on how voter suppression threatens democracy - Code Switch, NPR

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

The nation is still reckoning with a Supreme Court decision last week that critics say renders a key aspect of the Voting Rights Act useless.
The court ruled that Louisiana illegally used race in the way it drew its district map.&nbsp;
It has wider implications for how all such maps are drawn. Some states, including Florida, have already moved to change their maps. This is all happening mere months before the midterm elections.&nbsp;
KUOW's Paige Browning talked with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams about her take on the decision, about her opinion on voter apathy and why she stepped back from the national stage. Guest
Stacey Abrams, lawyer, former Georgia Democratic state legislator, founder of the American Pride Rises Network and the 10 Steps Campaign Related Links
<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_new_jifl.pdf">Louisiana v. Callais</a> - Supreme Court decision <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/us/politics/supreme-court-voting-rights-act.html">Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map, Another Blow to Voting Rights Act</a> - The New York Times <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/11/nx-s1-5568174/stacey-abrams-on-how-voter-suppression-threatens-democracy">Stacey Abrams on how voter suppression threatens democracy</a> - Code Switch, NPR Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out,&nbsp;go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
<a href="https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/soundside">Soundside</a>&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

" We can't go back in time and change the [2024] election," Abrams says. "What we can do is look forward and make certain that we connect democracy to people's lived experiences." 