Court weighs role of race in Alabama redistricting

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with a dispute over the use of race to redraw political districts that turns the usual arguments on their heads.

The complicated case argued at the high court involves the use of a landmark voting rights law that led to the election of African-Americans across the South and Supreme Court decisions that limited the use of race to draw electoral maps.

Only in this case, Republicans in Alabama are invoking the Voting Rights Act to justify concentrating black voters in some legislative districts, and African-Americans challenging the state's legislative maps said the GOP relied too heavily on race.

"Do you realize you are making the argument that the opponents of black plaintiffs used to make here?" Justice Antonin Scalia asked a lawyer for the challengers. Scalia appeared favorable to the state's argument.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, file photo, Alabama state Sen. Quinton Ross departs the Federal Building, in Montgomery, Ala. Democrats argue Republicans relied too heavily on race to draw new maps following the 2010 census. {201c}It really is segregation at its best,{201d} said Ross, a member of the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, which also is challenging the plan. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141112/us--supreme_court-voting_rights-b2c0c4f913.html

[Fred Sanders]

1. "Scalia appeared to agree with the state"....anything to justify gerrymandering..., anything to pave

the way to Christofascism in America, 'cause now it is going to get down and dirty and Obama is quite able to deal with them all.

[alp227]

3. I wish all congressional districts were drawn like simple shapes or around legitimate borders

whether bodies of water or county lines. I was watching the US House election results on the C-SPAN map http://www.c-span.org/election/ Some House districts gave me a "WTF is this?" reaction.

Nebraska has acceptably drawn districts in my eyes. One for the Omaha area (yay Brad Ashford), another for the Lincoln area, and another for the rest of the state. I guess the district lines are due to population and geography, ensuring that Lincoln and Omaha have their own members of Congress.

But other districts even if they're held by good Democrats have borders that resemble a child's squiggly drawings. Like Emanuel Cleaver's that has KC, MO...and squeezes in a bunch of small towns east of KC I've never heard of. Marc Veasey's district around Dallas is another mess. Don't get me started how the districts are drawn in Louisiana.

In Alabama, Terri Sewell's district has thin edges stretching to (D)-majority Birmingham and Montgomery while places like Selma and Tuscaloosa (home of the U of Alabama, three-time football national champions in recent years) are within a solid block. And next to Sewell's district is a Republican district that is shaped like a dragon (I'm not kidding. Just look up Alabama's congressional districts.)

South Carolina...geez. Gotta wonder if the pointy parts of Mark Sanford's (I still can't believe that lyin', cheatin' scumbag made it back to congress) and Jim Clyburn's districts have built-in political advantage?

It gets worse in North Carolina. Republicans enjoy districts that at least cover cities AND surrounding suburbs. In contrast, Democrats' districts? Alma Adams represents a snake-shaped, urban-heavy district that has not just Charlotte but also High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem. And David Price's district starts at the Research Triangle (excluding Durham) and squeezes all the way down to Fayetteville. And how come Duke University...and a bunch of small Eastern NC towns...are in GK Butterfield's district but Wake Forest in George Holding's?

In a perfect world, all US House seats would be equally competitive with no supermajority advantage for incumbents, so that those elected to the House would be more accountable to voters.

Thankfully, this year, some judges said: Yes, Virginia, you can have honestly drawn, non-snaky districts.