Supreme Court limits scope of Votings Rights Act

12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Robert T. Garrett

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court limited the reach of the Voting Rights Act on Monday, a decision that could make it harder for some minority candidates to win election when voting districts are redrawn.

In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that the law cannot be used to create voting districts favorable to the election of minority candidates unless at least half the population is minority.

The decision could make it more difficult for Democrats, particularly in the South and Southwest, to draw electoral boundaries friendly to black or Hispanic candidates after the 2010 census.

With the court's conservatives in the majority, the court ruled that North Carolina erred when trying to preserve the influence of black voters even though they made up just 39 percent of the population in a state legislative district.

While not a majority, the black voters were numerous enough to effectively determine the outcome of elections, the state argued in urging the court to extend the civil rights law's provision to the district.


In Texas, Democratic redistricting lawyer Gerald Hebert said the decision could raise questions about some districts in the state.

The Texas Legislature also has drawn three congressional districts in which blacks make up less than a majority, though African-Americans hold the seats – those of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; and Houston Democratic Reps. Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee.

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