Supreme Court Says States Can Ban Affirmative Action — 8 Already Have

By Drew DeSilver
Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision upholding Michigan’s ban on affirmative action affects more than college admissions, and more than just Michigan. Seven other states have similarly broad bans in their constitutions or statute books, and opponents of affirmative action have called on other states, and the federal government, to follow suit.

In a 6-2 decision marked by divisions among the justices (three concurrences in addition to Justice Kennedy’s plurality opinion, which only two other justices joined), the Court was careful to stress that it wasn’t ruling on “the constitutionality, or the merits, of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education.” Rather, the key question was “whether, and in what manner, voters in the States may choose to prohibit the consideration of racial preferences in governmental decisions…”

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