RamsayBolton
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Supreme Court throws out race claim in South Carolina redistricting case in win for GOP
Civil rights groups argued that state Republicans unlawfully redrew GOP Rep. Nancy Mace’s district when they removed thousands of Black voters.
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The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Republicans in South Carolina did not unlawfully consider race when they drew a congressional district in a way that removed thousands of Black voters, in a decision that makes it harder for civil rights plaintiffs to bring racial gerrymandering claims.
The court, divided 6-3 on ideological lines with conservatives in the majority, said civil rights groups had not done enough to show that legislators were focused on race in drawing the Charleston-area district currently represented by Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican.
While the Supreme Court was considering the case, much more slowly than expected, the lower court that had invalidated the map said it could be used for this year’s election.
In the South, Black voters tend to be Democrats, so it can be difficult to separate race from politics.
Leah Aden, a lawyer with the Legal Defense Fund civil rights group who argued the case at the Supreme Court for the plaintiffs, said the ruling is "disheartening not only for our case, but other cases" because the Supreme Court has now disavowed reliance on evidence it had previously said could be relied upon.
"The bar keeps on getting moved, and it keeps getting harder and harder for plaintiffs to uproot racial discrimination," she added.
In dissent, liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the majority had "stacked the deck" against the challengers by saying that evidence about the impact on Black voters can easily be sidestepped if the state can offer an alternative narrative that insists voters were divvied up based on partisan interests.
"What a message to send to state legislators and mapmakers about racial gerrymandering," she added.
#BothSides strikes yet again
Also clears the way for more black voters to be disenfranchised across the U.S.