Reversing decades of precedent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in a Texas case that different minority groups cannot jointly claim that their votes have been diluted.

This court is a Republican-majority appeals court

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
    25·
    4 months ago

    The case involved districts for county commissioners in Galveston County, Texas, a community of about 350,000 people, where the last round of redistricting redrew a district in which Black and Hispanic voters together made up a majority of voters. The redrawn boundaries reduced their combined share of the district’s electorate to 38 percent, and a lawsuit claimed that doing so violated Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits drawing maps that dilute minority voting power.

    A lower court and the three-judge appellate panel both ruled that the new map was a clear violation of the law.

    “Yeah, they broke the law by gerry-mandering your district in order to dilute your voting power…”

    But the full Fifth Circuit disagreed, saying that the law does not explicitly allow voters from more than one minority group to “combine forces” to claim their votes were diluted.

    “…but you both complained about it at the same time and we’ve decided that means we can ignore you because magic legal words that totally aren’t racist.”

    The 12 judges in the majority were all appointed by Republican presidents.

    Curb Your Enthusiasm music begins

    • Rice_Daddy@lemmy.world
      2·
      4 months ago

      Does this mean that if you discriminate minorities as a groups, there’s no recourse? They probably can point to how the figures as they have, and they can’t submit a joint case.

  • jeffw@lemmy.world
    16·
    4 months ago

    The 12 judges in the majority were all appointed by Republican presidents. Five of the six dissenters were named by Democratic presidents.

    Of course

      • raynethackery@lemmy.world
        1·
        4 months ago

        Oh, I didn’t mean cutting their pay. I meant starving the whole circuit of operating funds. Keep paying the judges if we have to but nothing is getting done if the courthouse is closed.

    • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
      26·
      4 months ago

      but since voting is a sham and the courts are run by kangaroos nothing short of a riot is going change anything

      • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
        6·
        4 months ago

        Voting is most definitely not a sham; there are real issues with gerrymandering, but the reality is that power is in fact awarded in the US on the basis of who wins elections.

        • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
          13·
          4 months ago

          The latest round of redistricting in Galveston County, a community of 350,000 people, redrew a district in which Black and Hispanic voters together had made up a majority of voters. The redrawn boundaries reduced their combined share of the district’s electorate to 38 percent.

          right there in the article

          leaders rigged the election to get elected and to keep holding power

          voting is a sham

          and both parties participate in different ways to keep people from voting

          • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
            3·
            4 months ago

            That’s called gerymandering.

            And yes, unilateral disarmament is a dumb idea — the Democrats ended gerrymandering in a few states (eg: California) but aren’t going to end it nationally except as part of a law to do it for the whole country. Which the Republicans have blocked at the federal level.

  • Media Bias Fact Checker@lemmy.worldB
    28·
    4 months ago
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