ERROR: Supreme Court Rejects NAACP Lawsuit Over ‘Racial Gerrymandering’ in South Carolina | The Gateway expert

The Supreme Court has done that turned down a lawsuit from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that accused South Carolina of “racial gerrymandering” on the new congressional map.

In a 6-3 decision split along conservative-liberal lines, the Court ruled that the challengers had not proven that the state legislature’s actions were racially motivated when it moved thousands of black voters from the state’s first congressional district.

To write for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said there was “no direct evidence” that race was an issue when the lines were drawn.

“There is no direct evidence to support the district court’s conclusion that race predominated in the District 1 design,” Alito wrote. “The circumstantial evidence cannot demonstrate that race, rather than partisan preferences, drove the districting process.”

BREAK.

The U.S. Supreme Court *REVERSES* South Carolina’s rejection of “racially gerrymandered” districts in federal elections.

Judge Alito gave the court’s opinion:

“These doctrinal lines clash when race and party preference are highly correlated. We… pic.twitter.com/w0JYDQvozJ

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 23, 2024

Judge Clarence Thomas also weighed in, writing that there was “no substance to the dissent’s attacks.”

The affected area in Charleston was previously a bloodbath after switching sides in 2018 and 2020. It is currently owned by Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace.

Writing in a dissent for the court’s liberal wing, Justice Elena Kagan said there was “more than enough evidence” that racist gerrymandering had occurred.

“The Challengers have presented more than sufficient evidence of racist gerrymandering to support the court’s finding,” she wrote. “The majority states that it knows better than the District Court what happened in a map drawing room in South Carolina to produce District 1.

“But the proof is in the pudding: page after page, the majority opinion betrays its distance from and lack of familiarity with the events and evidence at the heart of this case.”

The ruling is a clear victory for the Republican Party, which is likely to gain at least one seat in Congress. However, litigation on a separate claim involving the Voting Rights Acts will be remanded to lower courts, leaving the future of the Congressional map in continued doubt.