Communication 09 How To draw Redistricting Plans That Will Stand Up In Court

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2) that it is politically cohesive; and 3) that, in the absence of special circumstances, bloc voting by defeats the minoritys preferred candidate. 478 U.S. at 50-51. Gingles was the first case in which the Supreme Court considered the 19 § 2. It was a challenge to legislative redistricting plans in No multimember Senate district, one single-member Senate district, districts. Justice Brennans majority opinion upheld the constit§ 2, as amended. The Court has since held that the three preconditions also apply§ 2 challenges to single- member districts. Growe v. Emison,507 U.S. 25, 40-41 (1993). 5.The Totality of the Circumstances Once these three preconditions are satisfied, Justice Brennan sa several additional objective factors in determining the total an alleged violation of § 2. They include the following: 1) the extent of the history of official discrimination touching on the class participation in the democratic process; 2) racially polarized voting; 3) the exte nt to which the State or political subdivision has used unusually large election districts, majority vote requirements, antisingle-shot provisions, or other voting practices that enhance the opportunity for discrimination; 4) denia l of access to the candidate slating process for members of the class; 5) the extent to which the members of the minority group bear the effects of discrimination in areas like educ ation, employment, and health, which hinder effective participation; 6) whe ther political campaigns have been characterized by racial appeals; 7) the extent to which members of the protected class have been elected; 8) whether there is a significant lack of responsiveness by elected officials to the particularized needs of the g roup; and 9) whether the policy underlying the use of the voting qualification, standard, practice, or procedure is tenuous. 20