The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 31, 2025

By any rational measure, the Texas legislature racially gerrymandered its congressional map in 2025 to add five more GOP seats at the request of President Donald Trump.  But the U.S. Supreme Court majority allowed it anyway, claiming plaintiffs hadn’t proven their case.

To get those five seats, zealous Texas legislators split Black and Hispanic communities in congressional districts for Austin, Dallas and Houston, traditionally majority-minority Black and Hispanic districts.

Since the 1960s, court precedent prohibited using race as a factor in partisan gerrymandering if it had the effect of racial discrimination.  With 2024’s Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP, the court erased that precedent.  In the recent Texas case, Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens, the lower court stated QUOTE, “substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.” 

Yet despite 3,000 documents and a 160-page opinion, the high court’s conservatives said the plaintiffs had not met the court’s sky-high bar of showing INTENT to racially gerrymander, not just the effect. This included not submitting alternative maps to show how the legislature could draw the districts without racially discriminating. 

This decision, in combination with the expected Louisiana v. Callais opinion, may neutralize remaining Section 2 provisions, leaving minority voters with fewer voting rights protections, and even fewer ways to fight in court.We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

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

American Democracy Minute – Trump-Requested Texas Congressional District Gerrymandering Blocked by Federal Court Panel
American Democracy Minute – U.S. Supreme Court Majority Embraces Texas Redistricting, Ignores District Court Panel Racial Gerrymandering Findings
Louisiana Illuminator – Supreme Court lets Texas keep new congressional map while legal battle continues
Brennan Center for Justice – The Supreme Court Messes with Texas’s Voting Map

Groups Taking Action:

LULAC, MALDEF, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Center for American Progress

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #RacialGerrymandering #VotingRightsAct #Texas #FairMaps #USSupremeCourt

The post American Democracy in 2025:  To Prove Racial Gerrymandering, Minority Voters Must Now Show SCOTUS ‘Intent’ to Discriminate, Not Just ‘Effect’ appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 24, 2025

The North Carolina legislature passed a new gerrymandered congressional map October 22nd, likely adding a GOP congressional seat to offset expected 2026 midterm losses in the U.S. House.  Legislators diluted Black voting power to do it, but say it was for partisan reasons.

The map likely gives Republicans an 11-3 advantage in a purple state where President Trump won by only 3.3% in 2024. State leaders went out of their way to say it was manipulated to help maintain GOP control of the U.S. House.   State Senator Ralph Hise said, “The motivation behind this redraw is simple and singular: draw a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to the congressional delegation.”

Why admit the cheating?  The U.S. Supreme Court’s Rucho decision said gerrymandering for partisan reasons was a state political matter, not a matter for the federal courts.  For the moment, racial gerrymandering is still illegal under the Voting Rights Act, so the deliberate admission of partisan gerrymandering helps to create an alibi when the case reaches federal court.

The new map changed only Congressional District 1, a currently competitive northeast district which Black Congressman Rep. Don Davis won by 2%.  A North Carolina Black Alliance analysis shows it shifted 8% of Black voters into adjoining redder districts, diluting Black voting power and tilting District 1 Republican. 

We’ve linked to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – North Carolina Plans to Gerrymander a GOP Seat to Help Retain Control of the U.S. House in 2026
WUNC – NC Senate advances new Congressional map intended to pick up an additional GOP seat
North Carolina Black Alliance – North Carolina’s historic Black Belt district under attack by new gerrymandered map
WRAL – Protesters march on NC legislature as House lawmakers advance new congressional districts
WRAL – NC Republicans pass new congressional districts into law to boost GOP edge in U.S. House races
The Center for Politics – Rating the New North Carolina Republican Gerrymander

Groups Taking Action:

North Carolina Black Alliance,  Common Cause North Carolina,  North Carolina For the People, Democracy North Carolina

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NorthCarolina #DonaldTrump #Gerrymandering #USCongress #FairMaps #2026Midterms

The post NC Legislature Approves Gerrymander to Add Another GOP Congressional Seat, But Dilutes Black Voting Power in the Process appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 17, 2025

The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to agree Oct. 15th with arguments that the Voting Rights Act Section 2’s majority-minority voting districts conflicted with the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.  A decision is expected next year. 

Chief Justice John Roberts signaled that the court’s 2023 Milligan precedent – a very similar case – may not apply to Louisiana vs. Callais.  Justice Kagan later pointed out the court rejected several similar arguments by the State of Alabama defending its discrimination. 

Louisiana argued that court-mandated majority-minority districts giving minority voters an equal chance to elect a candidate of their choice, puts the state in a position to discriminate against other voters.

Justices Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett both voiced support for an “end point” to sunset such opportunity districts.  The court’s Gingles Test, used to determine if a group qualifies for such a district, was also questioned by the conservative justices. 

In her opening argument, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Janai Nelson said that should the court strike down Section 2, it would be a QUOTE  “. . . a staggering reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”  There are 148 VRA majority minority districts in 28 states, according to BallotPedia. 

We linked a transcript of the arguments at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Louisiana v. Callais:  Protecting fair representation for Black voters in Louisiana and safeguarding the Voting Rights Act
U.S. Supreme Court – Transcript of Oral Arguments in Louisiana v. Callais
Supreme Court Oral Arguments – Audio with transcript on Louisiana v. Callais 
SCOTUS Blog – Court appears ready to curtail major provision of the Voting Rights Act
BallotPedia – Majority Minority Districts

Groups Taking Action:

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #USSupremeCourt #SCOTUS #Louisiana #LouisianavCallais #RacialGerrymandering, #VotingRightsAct #VRA 

The post Outlook for the Voting Rights Act Dims, as Court’s Conservatives Appear to Turn Away From Their Own Precedent appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Sept. 25, 2025

The striking down of an 1877 Jim Crow-era law making it a crime for citizens convicted of a felony to vote when their rights had not yet been restored was affirmed by a federal appeals court Sept. 12th.  Judges asked why the North Carolina legislature had not already repealed the law. 

Current North Carolina statute automatically restores rights to citizens returning from a felony sentence, IF they’ve completed any aspect of their jail time, any period of probation, post-release supervision, parole, and in some cases, payment of court debt, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections. 

The 1877 law, however, is still on the books. If a returning citizen doesn’t understand those rules, and mistakenly votes, that citizen could end up back in jail.  A lower court struck down the law as unconstitutional in 2024, but inexplicably, the state appealed the case. 

The discriminatory use of that law was at issue in the trial. Evidence showed that between 2015 and 2022, approximately 63% of the people who were investigated for voting offences were Black, yet North Carolina’s population is only 21 percent African American.

While other voting statutes have been updated, and the state claims it no longer prosecutes people under the law, judges questioned why such a law with discriminatory intent was never repealed.  Indeed.  

We’ve linked to more on the case at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Courthouse News Service – (2024) North Carolina advocates praise progress as judge finds prosecuting felon voters unconstitutional
U.S. District Court for Middle District of NC (Via Courthouse News Service) – Ruling in A. Philip Randolph Institute v. NC Board of Elections
North Carolina Newsline – (May) Federal appeals court panel grills attorneys for North Carolina over felon voting statute
Courthouse News Service – Fourth Circuit finds North Carolina’s felon voter law unconstitutional
Southern Coalition for Social Justice – Federal Appeals Court Affirms: NC Cannot Prosecute Voters Under Racist Law
4th Circuit Court of Appeals (via SCSJ) – Opinion in A. Philip Randolph Institute v. NC Board of Elections  

Groups Taking Action:

 NC A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE, Action North Carolina, Restoration of Rights Project

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #RightsRestoration #NorthCarolina #ReturningFelons #FreedomtoVote #VoterSuppression

The post Appeals Court Affirms North Carolina’s Jim Crow-Era Returning Felon Voting Law is Unconstitutional, and Questions Why It Wasn’t Repealed appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 19, 2025

The North Carolina legislature once again finds itself in federal court for two racial gerrymandering cases in a trial beginning June 16th.  Voters and three pro-voter groups accuse GOP leaders of violating the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.  

The cases were brought in late 2023 by Black North Carolina voters, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the state NAACP, and Common Cause. They contend that GOP legislators intentionally diluted Black voting power in the so-called Black Belt and other regions, affecting nine state House districts, five state Senate districts, and six Congressional districts. 

The original complaint contends, QUOTE, “. . . the General Assembly targeted predominantly Black voting precincts with surgical precision throughout the state in drawing and enacting the 2023 Plans, at the expense of traditional redistricting criteria, to achieve preferred district lines that diminish Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice at all levels of government,” UNQUOTE.

The legislature, in a recently familiar refrain, claims the gerrymandering was done for partisan reasons, out of bounds for federal courts, not for racial discrimination reasons. The legislature was accused in 2018 of extreme gerrymandering, and again in 2022’s Moore v. Harper.   

The trial is expected to last through July 9th, and a decision before fall.

We’ve linked to local reporting at  AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Southern Coalition for Social Justice – Case Summary
U.S. District Court – Complaint in NC NAACP v Berger, consolidated into Williams v. Hall
American Redistricting Project – Williams v. Hall Racial Gerrymandering Case
NC Newsline – NC racial gerrymandering trial begins Monday
North State Journal/AP – North Carolina redistricting trial begins
Brennan Center for Justice – (2017) Minority Representation: No Conflict with Fair Maps

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause NC, Southern Coalition for Social Justice,  NC State Conference of the NAACP

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #RacialGerrymandering #VotingRightsAct #14thAmendment
#FairMaps

The post Once Again, the North Carolina Legislature Finds Itself in Court for Racial Gerrymandering appeared first on American Democracy Minute.