Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan delivered a stark warning. She says the high court is destabilizing American democracy. Her comments came during a closed discussion in Washington. The audience included faculty and law students. This was at Catholic University. The timing is significant. The new term has just begun. Major cases are on the docket. These cases involve gun rights and election laws. Midterm elections are less than two weeks away. The political temperature is already high.
Kagan pointed to a 2019 ruling as the turning point. That case was Rucho v. Common Cause. She dissented in that decision. The majority barred federal courts from fixing maps. Those maps unfairly favor one political party. Kagan called this a race to the bottom. She argued it deprived citizens of voting equality. Masses of people lost their rights. The influx of gerrymandered maps is harmful. It drives people away from the center. Voters move toward the extreme wings. This makes a polarized country even more divided. She believes the court blinded itself to these effects.
The justice also criticized other recent rulings. One decision limited campaign finance restrictions. Another made it harder to draw minority districts. These actions hurt the Voting Rights Act. Kagan said the court lacked concern for consequences. She argued this created a broken democracy. It does not work as it should. She noted that the court was better before. There was more ideological balance back then. No single group controlled the outcomes. The court had legitimacy and stability. That balance is now gone.
Kagan addressed the money in politics directly. She discussed the removal of spending limits. These limits applied to party coordination. Striking them down allows wealthy donors to bypass caps. Parties become alternative checking accounts for candidates. She said Americans see this clearly. They view the money chase as a nightmare. She agreed with their assessment. The system feels corrupt to many. The flow of cash chases candidates relentlessly. This erodes trust in the process. The consequences are deleterious and clear.
The public sees the partisan divide. The institution is weaker for it.