Houston, Texas (KTRK) – A major win was achieved for civil rights groups Thursday after the US Supreme Court issued a shock 5-4 decision, ruling in favor of a case alleging that current congressional maps of Alabama discriminate against black voters. The decision could set a precedent for similar cases in Texas, one of the battleground states over voting rights.
The case was brought by a group of minority Alabama voters and civil rights organizations. They argued that the maps used in the 2022 election softened the voice of the state’s black population.
According to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Acts of 1965, states cannot make maps that “cause to deny or abridge the right to vote on the basis of race or color.”
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the SCOTUS majority decision that having a single black congressional district with only one majority out of seven denies more than a quarter of the state’s population an equal opportunity to elect the political candidates of their choice.
Related: The Supreme Court stands with Black voters, ruling that Alabama’s congressional maps violate the Voting Rights Act
This ruling came as a surprise due to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority and previous rulings in recent years that rolled back protections against racial discrimination.
According to the Associated Press, Roberts was part of a conservative majority in the Supreme Court in past cases that made it difficult for minorities to use the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in ideologically divided rulings in 2013 and 2021.
Political experts said this SCOTOS ruling could affect similar issues here in Texas.
“There are several litigants who have cases pending, not just for congressional district maps. But there are pending cases for maps of state legislative districts and school boards. There is a lawsuit against the Spring Branch Independent School District over the same standard, racially polarized vote,” said Professor Bob Stein, Professor Political Science at Rice University.
“Now this case will move forward. If it is heard in court, it will certainly be appealed. But if it reaches the Supreme Court, it is very clear that Roberts, (Justice Brett) Kavanaugh, and the other three liberal justices will form the majority 5-4 upholding this ruling. Special on Racially Polarized Voting”.
“Ninety-five percent of the population growth between 2010 and 2020 was driven by blacks, Hispanics, and Asians residing in Texas. But our statewide maps do not reflect that reality. There are ongoing lawsuits against the state of Texas that challenge those maps,” said Sarah Chen, staff attorney at the Rights Program. Vote in the Texas Civil Rights Project, it’s discriminatory and mitigating to those communities of color.
Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, shared that he’s happy with the ruling, but said it’s not a slam victory, and they can’t count on every similar case winning in court.
“These are the traditional tactics used by those who seek to suppress the vote by either mobilizing more than you need in an area or fracturing the communities, so you divide the communities and disperse their votes,” he said.
Alabama will now have to redraw its electoral maps ahead of the 2024 election, which will likely include a second majority black district.
The new maps likely mean greater representation for minorities from Alabama in the US House of Representatives.
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