Trade Publication Article

Following the Blueprint: How a New Generation of Segregationists Is Advancing Racial Gerrymandering

Abudu, Nancy G

2020

Overview

The U.S. Constitution already has more amendments, six to be exact, dedicated to the right to vote than any other fundamental right, but the VRA put actual teeth behind the protection of this principle by zeroing in on the most egregious forms of voter suppression. A CASE IN POINT Unfortunately, as a result of a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the formula for identifying which jurisdictions need Section 5 preclearance, the protection against the use of housing discrimination as a form of vote denial or dilution has eroded. (\"According to a recent report from EdBuild, a nonprofit focused on public-school funding, 73 communities have split to form their own school districts since 2000, and the rate of places doing so has rapidly accelerated in the past two years.\") [...]it is estimated that with the incorporation, the city-parish budget will shrink by $48 million. [...]according to July 1,2019, census data, 47.8 percent of the population in East Baton Rouge Parish is white and 47 percent is black (www.census.gov/quickfacts/ eastbatonrougeparishlouisiana).

• Publisher: American Bar Association
• Subject: Cities / Incorporation / Local elections / Minority & ethnic groups / Political power / Population / Segregation / Voting rights