Supreme Court to dig into claims of racial gerrymandering in Alabama
We ran the numbers: There are 1,103 news articles covering this topic.
55% (641) are left-leaning, 36% (421) are centrist, and 9% (105) are right-leaning.
The high court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday over whether the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires states to take race into account when dividing towns into congressional districts. Left leaning articles highlight the impact of the reduced power of black voters while right leaning articles focus on the argument that the state will be compelled to adopt the unconstitutional practice of giving preference to race when establishing election regulations.
USA Today published a centrist article about how a choice might influence how redistricting is carried out in every state in the nation. This is the first of two cases involving election law so far this term. A little more than a year ago, the Supreme Court struck down a crucial clause of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act, making it more difficult to prove that a change to election laws, such as reducing early voting, discriminated against minority voters. Voting rights activists are now worried that the court is about to take another stance.
A left-leaning article from the Washington Post highlights that approximately 27% of the state's population is African American, yet they only make up the majority in one district. The complaint asserts that the congressional district boundaries in Alabama undermine the voting power of Black residents. But advocates worry that a bad decision would have an impact on future redistricting lawsuits. The February vote that prohibited the use of the map during this year's elections had a majority of five conservative justices. Roberts' antipathy to the Voting Rights Act dates back a long time. If the court rules in Alabama's favour, voting districts where non-white and minority candidates have been elected may be altered.
A right-leaning article from Fox News highlights that the lawsuit was filed by the NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and a group of Alabama voters. The altered maps, according to the plaintiffs, reduced the power of black voters. Alabama will assert that if the complaint is successful, the state will be compelled to adopt the unconstitutional practice of giving preference to race when establishing election regulations, as the plaintiffs have accused the state of doing. Alabama appealed the lower court's ruling and the state's request was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court, enabling the current maps to continue to be used while both sides present their arguments.
From the left
Black representation in Alabama tested before Supreme Court
Washington Post