Tag: VRA

Courts Use the ‘Gingles Test’ to Determine Whether Redistricting Violates the Voting Rights Act

Five years into the redistricting cycle, we're still litigating racially gerrymandered voting maps. Today, we’re looking at a principle called the “Gingles Test” that federal courts use when determining whether a gerrymandered redistricting map is a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. How that test is interpreted can determine whether minority voters can elect the candidate of their choice, or their vote is diluted by an anti-voter state legislature.

Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in Allen vs. Milligan in 2023, finding Alabama must provide an additional majority-Black Congressional District.  Defiant, the legislature created new maps - again with only one real majority-minority district. That action could return Alabama to “preclearance” status by the federal government. 

Rebroadcast: ND Native American Nation Prevails in Protecting Majority-Minority Voting Districts.  A Victory for Minority Voters, But GOP Efforts to Neutralize the VRA Continue

Brian is so sick with a cold today that he can barely talk! This story from January is a good follow up to our March 24 story on oral arguments for Louisiana v. Callais held in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. It's a reminder that Voting Rights Act Section 2 claims not only come from Black Americans, discriminated against by majority-White governments since the country's founding, but Native Americans as well - also routinely suppressed by drawing of unfair voting districts, and the manipulation of voting rules.