SCOTUS' conservative majority makes a surprise decision

Meowzltov · May 12, 2025

DaisyDay said:
But there is no systemic racism in America.

If by America you mean our government, I agree. The racist laws have been wiped off the books.

However, there are non-governmental institutions that are still systemically racist. There are still employers who will not hire minorities for senior positions. There are banks that continue to be sued due to their racially discriminatory lending practices. Hospitals still give substandard care to racial minorities (and women). Appraisal companies still routinely undervalue homes owned by minorities. Coverage of crimes continues to show racial bias.

And its well worth noting that DEI policies are inherently racist. The victims in these cases are white males, Asians, and Jews, so they have a different victim pool. But DEI is certainly a common form of systemic racism today.

essentialsaltes · May 12, 2025

Meowzltov said:
If by America you mean our government, I agree. The racist laws have been wiped off the books.

Although they have been stopped by the courts, this thread is about the attempts of state governments to racially gerrymander their districts to reduce non-white political power. Other states have been able to enact their racist maps.

Meowzltov · May 13, 2025

essentialsaltes said:
Although they have been stopped by the courts, this thread is about the attempts of state governments to racially gerrymander their districts to reduce non-white political power. Other states have been able to enact their racist maps.

Yeah, I remember the rulings. The logic of the Supreme Court was that racial gerrymandering was unconstitutional, but partisan gerrymandering was okay. That set the stage for these states to say, "Oh we aren't trying to disenfranchise Blacks. We are trying to gerrymander Democrats" as if most blacks weren't Democrats.

essentialsaltes · Aug 9, 2025

essentialsaltes said:
Alabama ‘purposely’ diluted Black votes with congressional plan, court finds
The three-judge panel – made up of a former President Bill Clinton-appointee and two appointees of President Donald Trump – said that its conclusion that Alabama was acting with a discriminatory intent was “unusual” but not a “particularly close call.”

The legal war over Alabama’s congressional map has waged for nearly half a decade. The 2020 redistricting cycle was the first since the passage of the Voting Rights Act that Alabama and other states in the South were not required to get so-called “preclearance” for the maps.

Federal court says Alabama must use map that creates 2nd Black majority district

Alabama must use independently drawn congressional maps that created a second Black-majority district more favorable to Democrats in the state for the rest of the decade, a federal court said Thursday.

In May, the same panel of judges ruled the state’s 2023 map violated the Voting Rights Act, and chastised Alabama’s legislature for deliberately ignoring court rulings to draw the maps with a second predominantly Black district.

Alabama Republicans have previously signaled they may appeal the rulingagain to the Supreme Court, potentially offering another opportunity to rule on the Voting Rights Act’s statutes on race-based redistricting. The court is already weighing a similar issue regarding Louisiana’s congressional maps.

ThatRobGuy · Aug 10, 2025

In theory, if the Black community of a particular state was more evenly spread out across the state (to a degree where there was no district that was majority-Black), what would the recourse be in that type of situation?

It seems like the concept of "districting" in the first place was a bit of a ill-thought out approach.

No matter how it's done (even if it's done by an "independent bipartisan redistricting committee"), you're still going to end up with a wacky looking map in most cases.

The more I've looked into it, the more I like what Germany has with their MMP system (Mixed Member Proportionality)

From my understanding (and any Germans on here, feel free to correct any misinterpretations I have)

German voters get two votes on their ballot. The first vote is for a local candidate in their district (like the US system), and the second vote is for a political party.

The final composition of their parliament must match the proportional party vote.

So half of legislature is populated by regional winners, and the other half is assigned by party leadership for the "filler seats" based on who needs to get what to make the numbers line up.

So, how that would work would be... (let's pretend the number is 700 just to keep the math easy)

350 of those seats would be populated by the regional winners, the other 350 would be assigned seats by party leadership.

Each "district" would be about 950,000 people (the states can divvy those up how they'd like, because gerrymandering would be a non-issue)

The results come in...
195 Republicans Won the local races, and 155 Democrats won local races
The party vote came in, and 53% of voters said "D", and 47% said "R"

How that would shake out for the "proportionally ensured seats"

Democrats need: 371 total - 155 won = 216 proportional seats
Republicans need: 329 total - 195 won = 134 proportional seats

That system not only makes gerrymandering "moot" in terms of unfair advantage, it actually make gerrymandering a liability if someone tried it.

If a party drew some wacky looking districts just to help a few specific guys get a victory, they'd actually be handing more proportional seats to the other party's leadership to assign (not elect), so there's almost an incentive to keep districts as proportional as possible, because you can strategize to beat someone in an election, there's no strategizing if the other party's leader can pick whoever they'd like to fill a seat.

essentialsaltes · Dec 1, 2025

In August, [previous post] US district judge Anna Manasco, a Trump appointee, had ruled the map Alabama Republicans adopted in 2021 diluted the influence of Black voters in the area around the state capital of Montgomery, which was a violation of the Voting Rights Act. After the Alabama legislature declined to implement a new map, she appointed a special master to come up with a new one. The special master invited members of the public to submit possible plans.

In a surprising decision, the map she chose wasn’t one drafted by a court-appointed special master and his expert cartographer, but rather one that had been submitted by an anonymous member of the public, known only by their initials, “DD”.

The decision stunned “DD” – an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Alabama named Daniel DiDonato – who learned his map had been selected as he was preparing to leave for his 9.30am introduction to political science class.

DiDonato, who grew up in Russell county along the border between Alabama and Georgia, was the only member of the public to [submit a plan]. In early October, he spent a few days staying up late in his dorm drawing potential maps that could give Black voters a better chance of electing their preferred candidates.

He used a free online software, Dave’s Redistricting App, to draw the lines. He had begun playing around with it about a year ago, amid a budding fascination with redistricting.

essentialsaltes · Apr 29, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Topsy Turvy World

Supreme Court allows second majority-Black district in Louisiana over liberal dissents
But the decision may represent something of a pyrrhic victory for voting rights groups who fear the court’s justification for allowing the new map could have far-reaching consequences in future redistricting battles.

Back to normal.

US supreme court rules Louisiana must redraw its congressional map in landmark case

Decision effectively guts major section of Voting Rights Act, the last remaining provision of 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting

In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, the court rendered ineffective section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the last remaining powerful provision of the 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting. Section 2 specifically has long been used to ensure minority voters are treated fairly in redistricting

Pommer · Apr 29, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Back to normal.

US supreme court rules Louisiana must redraw its congressional map in landmark case
Decision effectively guts major section of Voting Rights Act, the last remaining provision of 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting

In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, the court rendered ineffective section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the last remaining powerful provision of the 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting. Section 2 specifically has long been used to ensure minority voters are treated fairly in redistricting

RIP VRA 1965-2026

essentialsaltes · May 2, 2026

Pommer said:
RIP VRA 1965-2026

Alabama and Tennessee set special sessions to consider new congressional maps after Supreme Court ruling

Republican governors in the two southern states called on lawmakers to take up redistricting efforts that could have an effect on this year's midterm elections.

Alabama's primaries on May 19 [less than 3 weeks away] are currently scheduled to take place using a court-ordered map that includes two districts with heavy Black populations. But the Supreme Court’s decision signaled that Alabama might now be allowed to use a previous map with just one of those districts in place, which would likely result in an additional seat for Republicans.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee also called for a special legislative session in his state to “review” the state’s congressional map, which has a single Democratic-controlled district based in Memphis.

Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also suggested Friday that his state might be next.

essentialsaltes · May 13, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also suggested Friday that his state might be next.

South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now

Tuesday’s vote doesn’t mark a definitive end for efforts to redraw the state’s maps — but it does make it harder to accomplish this year.

Lawmakers on Tuesday failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to approve a measure that would have allowed them to take up a vote on redistricting even after the legislative session ends later this week. Five Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the proposal.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster could still call a special session, though his office has so far dismissed that idea.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told reporters in Columbia last week that he would oppose any effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps.

“I understand that there are likely consequences for me personally standing here right now and taking the position that I’m in. ... My conscience is clear on this one, y’all.”

He took a swipe at national Republicans for failing to deliver much with the majority they currently have. And he warned that if Republicans were to draw out Democrats entirely from the state’s congressional delegation, South Carolina risks losing influence the next time a Democrat occupies the White House.

essentialsaltes · May 13, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Alabama and Tennessee set special sessions to consider new congressional maps after Supreme Court ruling
Alabama's primaries on May 19 [less than 3 weeks away] are currently scheduled to take place using a court-ordered map that includes two districts with heavy Black populations. But the Supreme Court’s decision signaled that Alabama might now be allowed to use a previous map with just one of those districts in place, which would likely result in an additional seat for Republicans.

When is an election not an election?

Alabama’s top election official says primary next week is still on but votes won’t count in 4 districts

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said next Tuesday’s primary will happen as scheduled, but votes in congressional races in four districts will be voided after a special primary in August.

Allen held a news conference at the Capitol and said he wanted voters to understand what was happening with the election after a legislative special session, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and Gov. Kay Ivey’s call for the special election on Aug. 11.

RocksInMyHead · May 13, 2026

And Louisiana is tossing about 40,000 ballots that were cast via early/mail voting in their primary too.

Fantine · May 14, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/08/politics/supreme-court-alabama-voting-rights-milligan/index.html

CNN —
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Alabama officials to redraw the state’s congressional map to allow an additional Black majority district to account for the fact that the state is 27% Black.

The decision – that affords additional opportunities for minority voters to elect the candidate of their choice – comes as a surprise given the conservative majority on the court. Alabama currently has seven congressional districts, with six represented by Republicans.

Supporters of voting rights had feared that the court was going to make it harder for minorities to challenge maps under Section 2 of the historic Voting Rights Act.

Chief Justice John Roberts penned the opinion for a 5-4 majority, siding with the court’s three liberals. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the key parts of the holding, providing the fifth vote.

To put it in perspective, a few decades back, this is what their electoral map looked like:
View attachment 332135

After 20 years of gerrymandering efforts, it had turned into this jigsaw puzzle
View attachment 332136

There are typically two forms of gerrymandering "Packing" and "Cracking"...the past few decades have seen both implemented in Alabama. They've both drawn wild lines in order to keep the narrow majority of Black people "packed" in the 7th district, while simultaneously creating the borders of the 7th district in a way that "cracks" up the Black voters in Birmingham and Montgomery so that 40% of them end up being stuck in Districts 2 & 6 (where their votes are rendered pointless)

Oh, when you mentioned surprise in the title I thought that you had caught the Supreme Court being good. When they take action to dismantle the voting rights act and virtually disenfranchise black voters, it's no surprise. It's just a reason for more disillusionment as they continue to rule like political hacks wearing robes.

essentialsaltes · May 26, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now
Tuesday’s vote doesn’t mark a definitive end for efforts to redraw the state’s maps — but it does make it harder to accomplish this year.

South Carolina Senate effectively kills proposed congressional map backed by Trump

The map could have allowed the GOP to flip Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn's seat.

The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday effectively killed a proposed congressional map that could have allowed Republicans to flip the seat held by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, a major rebuff to a mid-decade redistricting effort promoted by President Donald Trump.

The Republican-controlled state Senate voted Tuesday afternoon to adjourn their special legislative session until June 10, after the state holds its June 9 primaries, without nearing a final vote on the map.

SimplyMe · May 29, 2026

tobelieveinHim said:
Splitting up Districts by race, Are in fact, Racist! What if there are conservative black voters in that area,, and their vote is overshadowed by the other voters?

It's no surprise. <Staff Edit>
Nobody should be split up by race.

The Districts should represent the majority of that areas political values, not the color of their skin!

What areas? You do realize that is what the original complaint was about and why they were doing a separate district for race? Basically, what the "non-racial" districting is doing is breaking up areas of Black voters and connecting the slivers of an area with rural or suburban white voters, so that the Black area is nullified.

Hans Blaster · Jun 2, 2026

Bookend:

District court says redistricting is racist; Supreme court says "no problem" 6-3.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1314_7m58.pdf

tobelieveinHim · Jun 2, 2026

SimplyMe said:
What areas? You do realize that is what the original complaint was about and why they were doing a separate district for race? Basically, what the "non-racial" districting is doing is breaking up areas of Black voters and connecting the slivers of an area with rural or suburban white voters, so that the Black area is nullified.

So, What if there are black conservatives who voted for their candidate, and that candidate gets voted out because they've segregated based off race? That is in itself, racist

SimplyMe · Jun 2, 2026

tobelieveinHim said:
So, What if there are black conservatives who voted for their candidate, and that candidate gets voted out because they've segregated based off race? That is in itself, racist

I'm sorry, I don't even understand this. Are you thinking that it is a district that is segregated on race, and only Black people can vote in that district?

Sorry, it is a normal Congressional District, just like any other. The issue is, since Whites in the South tend to vote Republican but Blacks tend to vote Democrat, majority Republican legislators would vote, when making Congressional districts, to split up Black communities, and pair those pieces of Black communities with larger White sections of the state. This way there would be no Black Congresspersons, particularly no Democrats but insured that Black Republican candidates would also likely not be able to win.

So, a bill was passed, in the US Congress, to prevent state legislatures from breaking up Black communities in that way when creating Congressional Districts; since that prevented Black communities from having any Congresspeople to represent their area of the Congressional District -- the Republican would care about the people that voted for him, the White people in the district.

What is happening is racist, despite the spin from Republicans -- it is preventing Blacks from having representation in the US Congress that represents their community. Instead, their community is split up, and their candidates (since they are now in different districts, and regardless if that candidate is Republican or Democrat) get defeated by the candidates from the larger White areas in their new districts.

tobelieveinHim · Jun 4, 2026

SimplyMe said:
I'm sorry, I don't even understand this. Are you thinking that it is a district that is segregated on race, and only Black people can vote in that district?

Yes, That is how it currently, or previously worked..

SimplyMe said:
Sorry, it is a normal Congressional District, just like any other. The issue is, since Whites in the South tend to vote Republican but Blacks tend to vote Democrat,

Exactly... So, Republican black voices are not heard.

SimplyMe said:
majority Republican legislators would vote, when making Congressional districts, to split up Black communities, and pair those pieces of Black communities with larger White sections of the state. This way there would be no Black Congresspersons, particularly no Democrats but insured that Black Republican candidates would also likely not be able to win.

So, a bill was passed, in the US Congress, to prevent state legislatures from breaking up Black communities in that way when creating Congressional Districts;

SimplyMe said:
since that prevented Black communities from having any Congresspeople to represent their area of the Congressional District -- the Republican would care about the people that voted for him, the White people in the district.

No, This bill is preventing that from happening, going forward..

SimplyMe said:
What is happening is racist, despite the spin from Republicans -- it is preventing Blacks from having representation in the US Congress that represents their community.

Currently, it is preventing black conservative voices from being heard.

SimplyMe said:
Instead, their community is split up, and their candidates (since they are now in different districts, and regardless if that candidate is Republican or Democrat) get defeated by the candidates from the larger White areas in their new districts.

Whichever the majority in that district voted for, Should stay that way. They should not be moved to a different district.

RocksInMyHead · Jun 4, 2026

tobelieveinHim said:
Yes, That is how it currently, or previously worked..

No, it is not.

tobelieveinHim said:
Exactly... So, Republican black voices are not heard.

Also incorrect. Not being in the majority does not mean that you cannot be heard.

tobelieveinHim said:
Currently, it is preventing black conservative voices from being heard.

Political leaning is not a protected class. Conservatives (or liberals) are not obligated a voice.

You could argue that racial groups shouldn't be either, but that would ignore the realities of racism and its continued impacts in this country.

tobelieveinHim said:
Whichever the majority in that district voted for, Should stay that way. They should not be moved to a different district.

The people aren't being moved to a different district, but the district is being moved such that the people are no longer in it. Same effect.

SCOTUS' conservative majority makes a surprise decision

Freylekher Yid

Fact-Based Lifeform

Freylekher Yid

Fact-Based Lifeform

Federal court says Alabama must use map that creates 2nd Black majority district​

Part of the IT crowd

Fact-Based Lifeform

Fact-Based Lifeform

Supreme Court allows second majority-Black district in Louisiana over liberal dissents​

US supreme court rules Louisiana must redraw its congressional map in landmark case​

Future History Slab Carver

US supreme court rules Louisiana must redraw its congressional map in landmark case​

Fact-Based Lifeform

Alabama and Tennessee set special sessions to consider new congressional maps after Supreme Court ruling​

Fact-Based Lifeform

South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now​

Fact-Based Lifeform

Alabama and Tennessee set special sessions to consider new congressional maps after Supreme Court ruling​

Alabama’s top election official says primary next week is still on but votes won’t count in 4 districts​

God is innocent; Noah built on a floodplain!

Dona Quixote

Fact-Based Lifeform

South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now​

South Carolina Senate effectively kills proposed congressional map backed by Trump​

Senior Veteran

Reconstruction 3 will come

Active Member

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God is innocent; Noah built on a floodplain!

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