Ep. 32: SCOTUS Gutted the Voting Rights Act. What's Next? (Mimi Marziani, Esq.)

Constitutional law attorney, voting rights expert, and former president of the Texas Civil Rights Project Mimi Marziani joins Kate and Alex to break down the Supreme Court's Callais decision — and what it means for Texas, for redistricting, and for democracy itself. Plus: Mimi's clients are refusing to be silenced, Alex's daughter turns four, and Kate announces she's hanging a shingle.What we discuss:  What the Callais decision actually holds — and why Justice Thomas's concurrence may be more honest about it than the majority opinion The 25-year arc from Bush v. Gore to Crawford to Shelby County to Rucho to Callais — a slow burn with a fast finish Why the court reaching out to decide a question the parties didn't ask is virtually unprecedented, and what Citizens United has in common with it The immediate-effect ruling and why the only plausible explanation is to benefit Republicans in the 2026 midterms The Texas redistricting fight: how a 150-page federal court finding got swatted away on the shadow docket The Republican Party of Texas lawsuit seeking to restrict primary participation — and Mimi's amicus brief Tennessee's new map, the Memphis dismemberment, and what comes next Why 2030 redistricting is the stakes underneath the stakes — and why Texas is about to gain five more congressional seats What it would take for Congress to act: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the filibuster, and what 2029 might look like The one thing standing between Republicans and unlimited gerrymandering: losing"Republicans in Texas believe in Texas Democrats more than Texas Democrats do." — Mimi MarzianiRead Mimi's new article: Weaponized Oversight: Texas’s Escalating Campaign Against Nonprofit Advocacy & the Chilling Effect on Speech and Association, 45 Rev. Litig. (forthcoming 2026), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6748785.Support the show: Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠