The Supreme Court of the United States is examining this Tuesday, October 4, a division of constituencies in the state of Alabama accused of diminishing the influence of black voters, who are supposed to lean on the Democratic side.
The case is attracting a lot of attention because the high court, with a conservative majority, could take advantage of it to trim the scope of the “Voting Rights Actthe landmark 1965 law passed to end efforts by former segregationist states to disenfranchise African Americans.
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Concretely, it relates to a map redrawn in 2021 by the Republican elected officials of the state to allocate the seats in the House of Representatives. According to the division chosen, black voters – who represent around a quarter of registered voters – are in the majority in only one of the seven constituencies. One way to increase the chances of Republicans in the other six constituencies.
Citizens and associations have taken legal action accusing the legislators of having violated a section of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits the dilution of the vote of African-Americans in this way. For them, the new map passes through the middle of a predominantly black region, the “Blackbeltand cut it in half. They believe that Alabama should have created a second district with a black majority instead.
The stakes are particularly high in this state, where African-Americans vote mostly Democratic, when whites vote mostly Republican. Earlier this year, a court of first instance agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered local elected officials to issue a new copy. The Republican authorities then turned urgently to the Supreme Court.
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In February, five of the nine wise men of the prestigious institution authorized them to keep the 2021 card for now – and therefore for the midterm elections in November – while postponing the examination of the file on the bottom.
The time has now come and the parties will face each other for an hour in front of the high court to make their views prevail. Beyond the debate on its map, Alabama intends to plead that the Constitution of the United States prohibits taking into account ethnic criteria during electoral divisions.
However, the Voting Rights Act authorizes this to ensure that voters from minority groups can have elected representatives who reflect their views. “ If the Court authorizes to go back on this, it will undoubtedly have a strong impact on the representation of the communities.“Warned Sophia Lin Lakin, who is following the case for the civil rights organization ACLU, during a press conference.
The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden also supports the current legal framework. This is “a measured response to the unfortunate reality of the persistence of electoral blocs“Related to skin color, he said in an argument sent to the Court.
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