Justice Elena Kagan says the court’s rulings have created a ‘nightmare’ for democracy

Supreme Court rulings that hollowed out the Voting Rights Act, struck down campaign finance limitations, and allowed partisan gerrymandering to thrive have done damage not only to American democracy, but also the court’s own legitimacy. But don’t take my word for it. Ask Justice Elena Kagan.

“In all these areas, the court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works,” Kagan told law students Tuesday evening at Catholic University in Washington. “It has created a democracy that does not work as well as it should.”

Kagan pointed to several rulings that she believes have imperiled democracy, including the 2019 decision that held that federal courts don’t have the power to consider partisan gerrymandering challenges.

Since that decision, “both political parties have been engaged in a race to the bottom in terms of doing these partisan gerrymanders, effectively depriving masses of citizens of their rights to voting equality,” Kagan said.

That, in turn, has driven people “away from the center toward the wings, toward the extremes, making what I think is, unfortunately, a too polarized country even more so,” Kagan said.

Kagan also pointed to the damage caused by a ruling earlier this year striking down limits of coordinated campaign spending between political parties and candidates.

“The people of America look around at this political system and think all this money chasing all these political candidates is a nightmare and they are right,” Kagan said.

She also lamented the court allowing the president to fire most federal agency heads.

“The danger is it allows the president to ride roughshod over all the institutions of government,” Kagan said.

Such remarkable candor from a sitting justice would be noteworthy at any time. But with midterm elections just two weeks away, Kagan seems to put her finger on the pulse of an issue that is on the minds of voters of both parties: government corruption.

A Fox News poll last week found that 90 percent of voters reported being either extremely or very concerned about government corruption, an issue that topped even core voter concerns like inflation and health care.

The survey echoes the finding of a Brennan Center for Justice poll this summer in which a large majority of Republicans, Democrats, and independents expressed concern about government corruption. Those polls defined corruption broadly, but large majorities coalesced around some key examples like officials using their positions for personal gain, the influence of billionaires and corporations, and a lack of accountability for wrongdoing as key features.

Kagan said she misses the court she joined back in 2010 — long before the court’s 6-3 conservative supermajority took hold.

“The court had a kind of legitimacy,” Kagan said. “When the court has a legitimacy of that kind it helps to create a stable country.”

Kagan also defended the court, rejecting criticism that it has become a rubber stamp for President Trump and his policies, pointing to high court losses he suffered in trying to limit birthright citizenship, impose emergency tariffs, and limit mail-in voting.

“It’s why the president sometimes really has not very nice things to say about the court’s decisions and some of my colleagues,” Kagan said.

But her clear-eyed assessment that the court is harming itself as it imperils democracy is the clarion call Americans need to hear, especially as an election looms.

This is an excerpt from The Gavel, a newsletter about the Supreme Court from columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Sign up to get The Gavel in your inbox every Wednesday evening.

Kimberly Atkins Stohr is a columnist for the Globe. She may be reached at kimberly.atkinsstohr@globe.com.