Nonilex1d ago

#SCOTUS set the stage for #Alabama to get rid of 1 of 2 largely #Black congressional districts before this year’s #midterms, creating an opening for #Republicans to gain an additional #US #House seat in a closely divided chamber.

The decision follows a SCOTUS ruling that struck down a majority-Black US House district in #Louisiana as an “unconstitutional” #RacialGerrymander, significantly weakening the federal #VotingRights Act.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt
https://apnews.com/article/alabama-redistricting-supreme-court-congress-ba371351585b79c2965f9efb0332f33d

Supreme Court halts Alabama order for 2 largely Black US House districts

The U.S. Supreme Court has set the stage for Alabama to get rid of one of two largely Black congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections. The decision Monday comes after the court in April struck down a majority-Black U.S. House district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander. Alabama has been under a court order to use two largely Black districts but asked the court to reconsider that in light of the Louisiana ruling. The high court overturned that order and directed a lower court to reconsider the case. Alabama wants to instead use a map passed in 2023 by the Republican-led legislature that has one majority-Black district.

AP News
Show threadNonilexMay 23, 2024

The decision was a victory for #Republicans not only because it clears the way for a map that is favorable to the #GOP. It also sets a high bar for determining when a map can be considered a #RacialGerrymander, rather than a #partisan one. #SCOTUS has previously found the #Constitution bars racial #gerrymandering but that federal courts cannot police partisan gerrymandering.

#law #PartisanCourt #WhiteSupremacy #VoterSuppression #RepresentationMatters #ShelbyVHolder #VotingRights #VRA #VoteBlue

Show threadNonilexMay 23, 2024
At issue for #SCOTUS was whether #SC’s new map, which was created by the #GOP-led state legislature & moved #BlackVoters from one district to another, was permitted to bolster a #Republican majority or was an #unconstitutional effort to divvy up voters by #race. The 6-3 #conservative majority reversed the lower court finding that the map was an unconstitutional #RacialGerrymander but gave #Black voters a chance to continue the case using a different argument.
#law #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering
Show threadNonilexMar 28, 2024

Last yr the panel…found the map illegally split neighborhoods in the #Charleston area to make #NancyMace’s race easier. The new lines constituted a #RacialGerrymander that “exiled >30k African American citizens from their previous district,” the panel found.

In arguments before #SCOTUS in Oct, attys for #SouthCarolina argued that lawmakers had not relied on race to draw maps in violation of the #Constitution. Rather, they used #political info to decide…, they said.

#law #BlackVotesMatter

Show threadNonilexMay 15, 2023

The #SupremeCourt in such #redistricting cases is obliged to either affirm the decision of the special 3-judge panel, overturn it, or schedule it for full briefing & argument, as it did in this case. SC asked #SCOTUS to schedule oral arguments at the beginning of its new term in October & issue a decision by Jan. 1 in order for the 2024 elections to proceed smoothly.

The case is Alexander v. The South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.

#Gerrymandering #Minoritarianism #RacialGerrymander

Show threadNonilexMay 15, 2023

The judges found that SC’s mapmaker tried to keep the African American population below a certain target in the district, treating Charleston County “in a fundamentally different way than the rest of the state.”

#Gerrymandering #Minoritarianism #RacialGerrymander #SCOTUS

Show threadNonilexMay 15, 2023

The 3-judge panel in Jan said the plan by the #Republican-led #legislature split #Black neighborhoods in the #Charleston area to create a “stark racial gerrymander.” After the changes, Rep Nancy Mace (R) coasted to victory over a Dem opponent, securing what has become a Republican-dominated 6 to 1 congressional delegation in the state.

#Gerrymandering #Minoritarianism #RacialGerrymander #SCOTUS

NonilexMay 15, 2023

#SCOTUS to consider #SouthCarolina plan that ‘exiled’ #BlackVoters

The #SupremeCourt will consider SouthCarolina’s attempt to reinstate a congressional #redistricting plan that a lower court found had “exiled” 30k Black voters to create a district winnable for a #White #Republican candidate.

#Gerrymandering #Minoritarianism #RacialGerrymander
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/15/supreme-court-south-carolina-congressional-districts/

Supreme Court to consider South Carolina plan that ‘exiled’ Black voters

South Carolina is attempting to reinstate a Republican congressional redistricting plan that a lower court rejected as a “stark racial gerrymander.”

The Washington Post