📰 US Supreme Court Limits Use of Race in Drawing Electoral Maps
The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Wednesday in favor of a challenge to newly drawn districts in Louisiana that had been created to comply with a landmark civil rights law designed to protect Black Americans from racial discrimination.
In the majority opinion, conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the way courts had previously interpreted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has at times forced states “to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids.”
A group of primarily white voters challenging the law had argued that relying on race to create districts violated the US Constitution, and suggested that the relevant provision of the Voting Rights Act should be found unconstitutional in its entirety. The court’s majority did not take that position, but its decision will make it significantly more difficult to successfully challenge legislative maps for diluting the voting power of racial minorities.
To prove a violation, Alito wrote, litigants must now demonstrate that legislators intentionally drew the maps to provide less opportunity to racial minority voters — raising the standard from demonstrating disparate impact to proving discriminatory intent.
“The court’s decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissenting opinion.
The fight over voting maps has grown increasingly fierce over the past year, as both Democrats and Republicans seek to carve out districts that could help them secure congressional majorities.
The White House celebrated the ruling, calling it a “complete and total victory for American voters.” Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told BBC partner CBS: “The color of one’s skin should not dictate which congressional district you belong in. We commend the court for putting an end to the unconstitutional abuse of the Voting Rights Act and protecting civil rights.”
Florida is currently in the process of redrawing its legislative maps in an effort to gain more Republican seats in the House of Representatives. This decision could allow the state to further disadvantage incumbent Democrats who represent districts with large minority populations. Other Republican-led states, such as Tennessee and Mississippi, may also redraw their maps in the weeks ahead.
Source: BBC News