20 LOUISIANA v. CALLAIS Opinion of the Court our §2 vote-dilution cases. See Holder v. Hall, 512 U. S. 874, 895–896 (1994) (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment). Therefore, subsection (a) means that a districting map may run afoul of §2 if it “results in a denial or abridgement” of the right to vote “on account of race or color.” With that established, subsection (b) explains when such a denial or abridgment occurs: when “the political processes leading to nomination or election” are “not equally open to participation by” members of a racial group of voters “in that [they] have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to . . . elect representatives of their choice.” §2(b). In this complicated verbal formulation, the key concept for present purposes is “less opportunity than other members of the electorate to . . . elect representatives of their choice.” Ibid. This language sets a baseline against which to assess the opportunity of minority voters: the “opportunity” that “other members of the electorate” have “to elect” their preferred candidates. To understand this baseline, we must nail down the meaning of three terms: “less opportunity,” “other members of the electorate,” and “elect.” In isolation, “opportunity” could refer to either a desired outcome or a chance to achieve that outcome. As used in §2(b), however, “opportunity” must mean a chance to achieve a desired result, because the Voting Rights Act does not guarantee equal outcomes. See White, 412 U. S., at 765–766. Accordingly, “less opportunity” must mean a lesser chance. In ordinary usage, “less opportunity” often takes on such meaning. One might say, for example, that men under 6 feet tall have less opportunity to play in the NBA than those who stand at least 6 feet 7 inches (the current median). The next term—“other members of the electorate”—specifies the comparator to be used in determining whether the group protected by subsection (a) has suffered or is threatened with suffering “less opportunity . . . to elect representatives of their choice.” In conceptualizing the members of