The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 12, 2023
Today’s Script:
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
Today’s Links now below the script
Bombshell SCOTUS Decision in Alabama Case Reaffirms VRA Section 2 and May Impact 2024 Elections
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
The day before the bombshell classified documents indictment of former President Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a bombshell of its own. Its surprise decision in Allen v. Milligan, an Alabama racial gerrymandering case, may have an impact on 2024 elections nationwide.
Alabama’s population is 25.9 percent African American, but in Congressional voting maps drawn by the legislature, only one of seven districts was predominantly Black. Other regions would have qualified to form another, but instead, the legislature split them to dilute Black voting power.
The State of Alabama argued that since its maps were drawn by computers, it was race-blind and therefore didn’t violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Over the last decade, the current conservative high court consistently eroded voting rights and overlooked gerrymandering, which is why it came as a surprise when Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the court’s liberals in ordering Alabama to redraw its Congressional maps by 2024.
By affirming the VRA’s section 2, the 5-4 shockwave sends a message to anti-voter legislatures nationwide. Democracy Docket’s database shows 31 pending federal cases citing the VRA’s Section 2 which could be impacted, notably Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
Good news, but Democracy advocates are still wary of the court’s sobering anti-voter track record. We have links to the decision and analysis at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Democracy Docket – Alabama Congressional Redistricting Challenge (SCOTUS)
U.S. Supreme Court – Allen v. Milligan
Associated Press – New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections
Democracy Docket – U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Alabama Congressional Map, Upholds Voting Rights Act
USA Today – ‘Shockwaves.’ How a Supreme Court decision on Alabama could ‘shake up’ the 2024 election
Democracy Docket – How the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Allen v. Milligan Will Impact Ongoing Redistricting Litigation,
Brennan Center for Justice – A ruling in an Alabama case upheld a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, but challenges remain for communities of color
Union of Concerned Scientists – The US Supreme Court Upholds the Voting Rights Act, and Election Science, For Now
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