Politics · United States · 21 mins ago
Kagan says Supreme Court rulings have deepened political polarization
Justice Elena Kagan criticized the Supreme Court's conservative majority during a talk in Washington.
She said rulings on voting rights, district maps and campaign finance have harmed how the political system works.
In 2019, the court ruled that federal courts could not intervene against extreme partisan gerrymandering, which is the drawing of electoral districts to favor a party.
Kagan said that decision encouraged both parties to draw maps that reduce competition and push candidates toward political extremes.
Several states have redrawn congressional maps ahead of the Nov.
3 midterm elections, seeking to increase the number of seats their majority party can win.
Kagan also criticized rulings that weakened the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law meant to protect minority voters, and warned that these decisions are deepening polarization.
Justice Elena Kagan said recent Supreme Court rulings have weakened democracy and intensified political polarization.
She criticized decisions on voting rights, partisan gerrymandering and campaign finance.
Kagan said the rulings’ effects include less competitive districts and greater polarization.
She spoke Tuesday at a law school event at Catholic University in Washington.
Her comments came two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
- Who
- Justice Elena Kagan, one of the Supreme Court’s three liberal justices.
- What
- She criticized Supreme Court rulings, saying they have harmed democracy and deepened political polarization.
- When
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
- Where
- Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C.
- Why
- Kagan said the court had failed to consider the consequences of its rulings for the political system.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could not intervene to limit extreme partisan gerrymandering.
The court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais, giving state legislators greater latitude to draw maps, according to CNN.
The court issued its most recent ruling striking down campaign finance restrictions, according to NBC News.
Kagan criticized the court’s rulings during a discussion at Catholic University’s law school.
- Speaker
- Justice Elena Kagan
- Event
- Discussion at Catholic University’s law school
- Court composition
- 6-3 conservative majority
- Midterm election date
- November 3, 2026
- Cases mentioned
- Louisiana v. Callais; Rucho v. Common Cause
- Topics criticized
- Voting rights, partisan gerrymandering and campaign finance restrictions
4 sources
Supreme Court’s conservatives have let down democracy, Justice Kagan says
US high court rulings have been 'destructive to democracy,' Justice Kagan says
Ahead of Midterms, Justice Kagan Says Rulings Have Intensified Polarization
Justice Elena Kagan accuses Supreme Court’s conservative majority of undermining democracy
What people are saying
The court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works.
both parties have been engaged in a race to the bottom in terms of doing these partisan gerrymanders
making what I think is unfortunately a too polarized country even more so
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