Supreme Court orders Alabama voting maps redrawn in win for Black voters
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Alabama officials to redraw the state바카라 게임 웹사이트s congressional map to allow an additional Black majority district to account for the fact that the state is 27% Black.
The decision 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that affords additional opportunities for minority voters to elect the candidate of their choice 바카라 게임 웹사이트 comes as a surprise given the conservative majority on the court.
Supporters of voting rights had feared that the court was going to make it harder for minorities to challenge maps under Section 2 of the historic Voting Rights Act.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the opinion for a 5-4 majority, siding with the court바카라 게임 웹사이트s three liberals. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the key parts of the holding, providing the fifth vote.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We are content to reject Alabama바카라 게임 웹사이트s invitation to change existing law,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Roberts said.
The fact that Roberts penned the decision is a surprise given that 10 years ago, the chief justice effectively gutted a separate section of the Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to obtain federal approval before changing election laws.
In recent years, Section 2 has been instrumental in paving the way for minority voters to more fully participate in the political process, especially as they combat maps that appear to be neutral but actually entrench racial polarization.
Roberts wrote Thursday that Section 2 바카라 게임 웹사이트may impermissibly elevate race in the allocation of political power within the States is, of course, not new,바카라 게임 웹사이트 but he said the opinion 바카라 게임 웹사이트does not diminish or disregard these concerns바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It simply holds that a faithful application of our precedents and a fair reading of the record before us do not bear them out here,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Roberts said. Alabama바카라 게임 웹사이트s argument 바카라 게임 웹사이트runs headlong into our precedent.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트A district is not equally open, in other words, when minority voters face 바카라 게임 웹사이트 unlike their majority peers 바카라 게임 웹사이트 bloc voting along racial lines, arising against the backdrop of substantial racial discrimination within the State, that renders a minority vote unequal to a vote by a nonminority voter. 바카라 게임 웹사이트
Justice Clarence Thomas, in part of a dissent that was joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, asserted that the Voting Rights Act should not apply to redistricting.
바카라 게임 웹사이트At the outset, I would resolve these cases in a way that would not require the Federal Judiciary to decide the correct racial apportionment of Alabama바카라 게임 웹사이트s congressional seats,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thomas wrote, adding that he believed the VRA바카라 게임 웹사이트s text focused 바카라 게임 웹사이트on ballot access and counting.바카라 게임 웹사이트