Discussion
Arguments underway in #SCOTUS #VotingRightsAct case
#JohnRoberts first called on Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to present her argument. Nelson is representing Press Robinson & other #Black #Louisiana voters.
Nelson argues her opponents “seek stagging reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”
#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
#ClarenceThomas has been questioning section 2 almost since he joined the court in 1991
The questioning begins with Thomas. His long-held view that drawing districts with #race in mind violates the #Constitution. Until now, that view has never commanded a majority of the court.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Early debates center on 1986 Gingles ruling
Justices questioned Nelson on the “Gingles test,” which dates from a 1986 court ruling resulting in the invalidation of North Carolina legislative districts & yielded more single-member districts in state legislatures.
“You look at how different races of voters vote & whether they vote in a way that is polarized,” Nelson said, responding to a question about considering partisan & race in drawing districts.
“We’re talking about racially polarized voting that is above 84%, which is more than what this court found in Thornburg v. Gingles in 1986,” Nelson said.
A bit of political/legal jargon repeatedly came up early in Wednesday’s voting rights oral arguments.
“Packing & cracking” refers to a practice by the party in power, which tries to pack Black voters into condensed areas, then divide them.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
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