Justice Department has issued new guidance on redistricting and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1429486/download




I tried to cut and paste the opening section, but it wouldn't let me....

[elleng]

1. 'The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark civil rights law that protects

our democratic process against
racial discrimination. One of the key protections of the Voting Rights Act is Section 2, 52 U.S.C. § 10301,
which is a permanent nationwide prohibition on voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race,
color, or membership in a language minority group (as defined in Sections 4(f)(2) and 14(c)(3) of the Act,
52 U.S.C. §§ 10303(f)(2), 10310(c)(3)). Section 2 prohibits both voting practices that result in citizens
being denied equal access to the political process on account of race, color, or membership in a language
minority group, and voting practices adopted or maintained for the purpose of discriminating on those
bases.

Section 2 covers any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure
related to voting. As relevant for purposes of this guidance, Section 2 covers methods of electing public
officials. This coverage includes a variety of electoral practices, such as: 1) districting plans used in
single-member district election systems or multi-member district election systems; 2) mixed election
systems, e.g., any combination of single-member, multi-member and at-large seats, and any associated
districting plans; and 3) at-large election systems.

Following the release of 2020 Census redistricting data, all fifty States and thousands of counties,
parishes, municipalities, school districts, and special purpose districts will craft new districting plans.
The Department of Justice will undertake its usual nationwide reviews of districting plans and methods of
electing governmental bodies to evaluate compliance with Section 2. It is the Department’s view that
guidance identifying its general approach to Section 2 in this context would be useful. This guidance is
not legally binding, nor is it intended to be comprehensive; rather, it is intended only to aid jurisdictions as
they comply with Section 2.1

The discussion provides guidance concerning the following topics:

• Enforcement of Section 2 by the Department of Justice
• Section 2 Analysis: Discriminatory Result
• Section 2 Analysis: Discriminatory Intent
• Other Federal Laws Governing Redistricting
• Use of 2020 Census Data
• Complaints and Comments'

[Nevilledog]

3. TY.....my iPad was being stupid.

[elleng]

5. YVW. I don't do iPad!

[dutch777]

7. Nice in the reading but can it be done real time with real results?

What is the leverage to correct deficiencies relative to the law in a timely manner before key elections? Court fights take time and the opposition has shown an excellent skill in drawing things out legally to the point of becoming meaningless as a practical matter. If Repugs take the House and Senate in 2022, the referenced law may no longer exist to be enforced. We keep thinking there is more time. There is NO MORE TIME.

[SheltieLover]

2. K&R!

[FBaggins]

4. They're trying to resurrect the discriminatory effect analysis that SCOTUS just killed

Unfortunately - federal courts are bound by SCOTUS rulings and not by DOJ analysis.

So this probably translates to "if you try this... we're going to sue you. We'll probably lose... but we'll say bad things about you first."

[LeftInTX]

6. That pretty much sums it up