How judicial action on racial gerrymandering has failed communities of color

Abstract

Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have resulted in the allowance of both partisan and racial gerrymandering in certain cases. This research seeks to identify the impact that this precedent has on the substantive representation of people of color. The majority-minority district is the key example of racial gerrymandering that is currently legal in the United States. The congressional election results of six states were compiled to identify the impact that the use of majority-minority districts has on the number of votes that were essentially “wasted” in these elections. The findings suggest that majority-minority districts are being used as a method partisan gerrymandering. They also suggest that the votes of people of color within these districts are “wasted” and diluted at a much higher rate than other districts. The research concludes that the use of majority-minority districts is resulting in a loss of substantive representation for people of color.