Thornburg V. Gingles

Question 1

What did the North Carolina General Assembly do

Answer 1

The North Carolina General assembly enacted a legislative redistricting plan for the state Senate and House of Representatives

Question 2

What did the appellees argue?

Answer 2

Black citizens of North Carolina register to vote filed in federal district court challenging a one single member district and six multimember district because the redistricting plan impaired black citizens from being able to elect representatives of their choice

Question 3

What law did this case violate

Answer 3

Section 2 of the voting rights act of 1965

Question 4

How did Mobile v Bolden affect this case

Answer 4

After the Mobile case Congress had amended the VRA of the results test. A clear violation of section 2 could be proven by showing “discriminatory effect “ rather than have to show a “discriminatory purpose “
and to establish as the relevant legal standard the “result test”

Question 5

How was section 2a amended

Answer 5

Section 2 prohibits a state or political subdivision from imposing any voting qualifications or prerequisites to voting or any standard practices or procedures that result in the denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen to vote on the account of race or color

Vote denial and vote dilution

Question 6

How was section 2b amended

Answer 6

Provides that section 2 is a violation when the totality of circumstances reveals that the political process leading to nomination or election are not equally open to participation by members of a protected class and that it’s members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process to elect representatives of their choice

Question 7

What did the district court apply

Answer 7

The totality of circumstances test in section 2b that the redistricting plan violated this section because it resulted in the dilution of black citizens vote in disputed districts

Question 8

In order for minority voters to successfully claim multi member form of district in violate section 2 what must they prove?

Answer 8

Minority voters must prove that multimember electoral structure operates to minimize or cancel out minorities ability to elect a preferred candidate

Question 9

What circumstances are needed to claim vote dilution?

Answer 9

A bloc voting majority must usually be able to defeat candidates supported by a “politically cohesive” and “geographically” insular minority group

Question 10

What two things is needed for vote dilution

Answer 10

To ascertain whether minority group members constitute a politically cohesive unit and to determine whether white vote sufficiently as a blog usually to defeat the minorities preferred candidate

Question 11

How can vote dilution be proven?

Answer 11

It must show that a significant number of minority group members usually vote for the same candidate is one way of proving political cohesiveness necessary to a vote dilution claim

Question 12

What is the legal question

Answer 12

Whether a given district experiences legal significant racial black voting requires discrete inquiries into minority white practices

Question 13

List the senate factors

Answer 13

The history of official discrimination in the jurisdiction that affects the right to vote
The degree to which voting in the jurisdiction is racially polarized
The extent to which the jurisdiction use of majority vote requirements usually large electoral districts provision on bullet voting and other devices at 10 to enhance opportunity for voting discrimination

Question 14

Are there other senate factors

Answer 14

Whether minority candidates are denied access to the jurisdictions candidates slating process
The extent to which the jurisdictions minorities are discriminated against in Socio economic areas
Extensive which minority candidates have one elections
The degree that elected officials are unresponsive to the concerns of the minority group and whether the policy justification for challenging laws tenuous

Question 15

What was the opinion of the court

Answer 15

The Supreme Court announced that section 2 violations were in various state house district except North Carolina multimember district

Question 16

What was established as a part of this case

Answer 16

the gingles test, Must show three precondition

Question 17

What are the three preconditions

Answer 17

The racial or language minority group sufficiently large and “geographically compact” to constitute a majority in a single member district, The minority group is “politically cohesive” - meaning its members tend to vote similarly- and the majority vote sufficiently as a block to enable it usually defeat the minorities preferred candidate “vote patterns”

Question 18

Compactness

Answer 18

Whether a majority minority district can be created because the racial or language minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority single member district

Question 19

Racially polarize voting

Answer 19

The minority group is politically cohesive

Question 20

What did the redistricting plan do?

Answer 20

The plan created 7 new districts where blacks would not be able to elect reps of their choosing

Question 21

What did congress amend in section 2

Answer 21

Voting violations needed only to have a “ discriminatory effect” and required no “discriminatory purpose”

Question 22

What did the district courts find in the Data

Answer 22

That black voters strongly supported black candidates whereas whites usually voted against black candidates the redistricting plan apportioned the politically cohesive groups of black voters into districts were blocks of white voters would consistently defeat the black candidates

Question 23

What happen right before the hearing

Answer 23

Congress amended section 2 of the voting rights act that stated voting violations needed “discriminatory effect” not “discriminatory purpose”

Question 24

What is the constitutional question

Answer 24

Did the North Carolina redistricting plan unlawfully discriminate against black Americans in 6 districts