Voting Rights Act (VRA) Archives

After Raising the Bar to Prove Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina Case, the U.S. Supreme Court Reopens a 2022 Arkansas Redistricting Case

June 4, 2024July 22, 2024

Is the U.S. Supreme Court aiming to take yet another chop at the 1965 Voting Rights Act? An Arkansas redistricting case has been sent back to a lower court after last week’s new rules making it harder to prove racial gerrymandering.

Analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s South Carolina Gerrymandering Decision Finds Disturbing Guidance for Lower Courts

June 2, 2024June 2, 2024

We reported last week on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in a South Carolina case, finding no racial gerrymandering when 30,000 Black voters were moved to dilute Black voting power in the state’s 1st Congressional district. Scholars found even more voting rights damage in the fine print.

Galveston County, TX Racial Gerrymandering Case Could Weaken Voting Rights Act Protections for Mixed Minority Communities

May 30, 2024May 31, 2024

The U.S. Federal Court’s Fifth Circuit, known for its conservative and sometimes fringe rulings, recently reheard a case from Galveston County, Texas over whether a community of African Americans and Latinx Americans qualifies for protections under the Voting Rights Act. The court’s opinion could further weaken the VRA.

U.S. Supreme Court Finds South Carolina Gerrymandering Case ‘Bleaching’ Congressional District Not Racially Motivated

May 28, 2024May 28, 2024

Back in October 2023, U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments to determine whether redistricting by the South Carolina legislature was prohibited racial gerrymandering, or political gerrymandering, allowed by the 2019 Rucho decision. The new opinion could have a dramatic effect on the 2030 redistricting cycle.

Minnesota Takes More Big Steps in Expanding and Protecting the Right to Vote, Including Passing the Minnesota Voting Rights Act

May 22, 2024May 22, 2024

May 17th, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an omnibus democracy reform bill which included the Minnesota Voting Rights Act, on the heels of 2023’s Democracy for the People Act and restoring voting rights to 55,000 of its formerly incarcerated citizens.

American Democracy Minute

Category: Voting Rights Act (VRA)

After Raising the Bar to Prove Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina Case, the U.S. Supreme Court Reopens a 2022 Arkansas Redistricting Case

Analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s South Carolina Gerrymandering Decision Finds Disturbing Guidance for Lower Courts

Galveston County, TX Racial Gerrymandering Case Could Weaken Voting Rights Act Protections for Mixed Minority Communities

U.S. Supreme Court Finds South Carolina Gerrymandering Case ‘Bleaching’ Congressional District Not Racially Motivated

Minnesota Takes More Big Steps in Expanding and Protecting the Right to Vote, Including Passing the Minnesota Voting Rights Act