OPINION:
A three-judge federal district court panel held that Alabama defied a Supreme Court decision that all but requires creation of a minority-favoring voting district (“Court orders new election map in Alabama after lawmakers defy Supreme Court,” web, Sept. 5). The Supreme Court should revisit this issue and hold that minority-favoring voting districts are unconstitutional.
The 15th Amendment provides that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged “on account of race.” This language ensures an individual right to vote, not a group right to exert political influence, so there is no constitutional basis for minority-favoring districts.
On the contrary, the 15th Amendment outlaws these districts. The amendment protects all races. A minority-favoring district necessarily dilutes the voting power of the nonminority voters in the district, so the decisions that require minority-favoring districts to avoid dilution of group influence are hoisted with their own petard.
And then there’s the “on account of race” requirement in the 15th Amendment. The Supreme Court has held that a minority-favoring district is required if the favored voters compose a “politically cohesive unit.”
This formulation suggests the minority is voting on account of political preference, not on account of race. The amendment outlaws discrimination based on immutable characteristics, and political preference is not an immutable characteristic.
Indeed, recent polling detects Black and other minority voters moving toward the Republican Party. They are no less Black or persons of color when they cross the political aisle.
JIM DUEHOLM
Washington
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