Supreme Court Restricts Voting Rights Act's Scope - washingtonpost.com: A fractured Supreme Court yesterday narrowed the protections of the Voting Rights Act, saying it does not require governments to draw electoral districts favorable to minority candidates in places where minorities make up less than half the population.
By a 5 to 4 vote, the court said race must be considered only in drawing boundaries where a "geographically compact group of minority voters" make up at least 50 percent of a single-member district.
The decision will limit the legal options for minorities challenging redistricting efforts that they believe dilute their voting rights after the 2010 Census. The court said Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act cannot be read as requiring "crossover districts," where minority voters are grouped in such significant numbers that they can elect a representative of their choice with only a modicum of support from majority voters.
