berg80
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2017
- 35,051
- 28,544
- 2,820
Supreme Court Limits Reach of Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court ruled today that Louisiana lawmakers had illegally used race as a consideration when drawing a majority-Black congressional district, as states have done for decades under the Voting Rights Act. The decision, which struck down Louisiana’s voting map, opened the door for other states to redesign their maps in ways that are likely to benefit Republicans.All six of the court’s conservatives agreed that Louisiana’s majority-minority district violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote for the majority, asserted that the court had kept intact the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was designed to guarantee the rights of minority voters.
Alito said the justices were updating the framework to make clear that the landmark civil rights law only prevents maps that intentionally limit the power of minority voters. A legal challenge that “cannot disentangle race from the state’s race-neutral considerations, including politics,” will fail, he wrote.
The three liberal justices dissented, arguing that the court had taken the final step to dismantle the Voting Rights Act. Justice Elena Kagan read her dissent from the bench, a rare move that often signals strong displeasure with a decision. (You can read the ruling and the dissent here.)
What's the long game with respect to this decision? Well, back in 2013 when the conservatives on the Court gutted section 5 of the VRA they said hey, don't worry, minorities still have section 2 protections. Now those are gone too. Just as Repub controlled southern states rushed to take advantage of the Court's ruling in 2013, so too they will do it now.
After Ruling, States Rush to Enact Voting Laws
State officials across the South are aggressively moving ahead with new laws requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls after the Supreme Court decision striking down a portion of the Voting Rights Act.The Republicans who control state legislatures throughout the region say such laws are needed to prevent voter fraud. But such fraud is extremely rare, and Democrats are concerned that the proposed changes will make it harder for many poor voters and members of minorities — who tend to vote Democratic — to cast their ballots in states that once discriminated against black voters with poll taxes and literacy tests.
Mississippi Official Calls to Eliminate State’s Only Majority Black House District After Voting Rights Ruling
Mississippi Official Calls to Axe Its Only Majority Black House District After Voting Ruling
A white Mississippi state leader called to eliminate of the state’s only majority-Black congressional district after a landmark voting rights ruling.
www.mississippifreepress.org
I don't think the R's are looking at the upcoming midterms with hopes of retaining control of the House thanks to the disaster that is trump. However, going forward there will be a target painted on black representatives in coming elections. There were 19 districts drawn in the wake of the VRA's passage allowing for greater minority representation in Congress. Representation that had been methodically prevented to that point. The Court said LA had illegally used race as a consideration in drawing their congressional maps. It's ruling, ironically, will legally allow the Repub legislatures to use race as a consideration for drawing future maps with the intent of reconfiguring districts likely to elect a black representative so that doesn't happen. It's the return, IMO, of Jim Crow to the south.
