A Supreme Court surprise on voting rights
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 June 2023
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the midst of other big news last week, you may have missed the surprising Supreme Court decision in support of voting rights in Alabama. Today, we break down the case that redraws Alabama’s congressional map.
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It seemed almost predictable that the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court would side with civil rights groups in the latest case on voting rights in Alabama. But when Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh, two conservatives, sided with the liberal justices, it shocked people who watch the court.
The case centered on redrawing congressional districts in Alabama. The state wanted to draw the map with just one district favoring Black Democrats. But the Supreme Court decided that two districts favoring Black voters should exist in Alabama.
Post reporter Robert Barnes joins guest host Rhonda Colvin with all the details of why this decision is groundbreaking — and what it means for Black voters across the country.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We'll hear argument first this morning in case 21 1086, |
| 0:05.5 | Meryl versus Milligan and the consolidated case. |
| 0:09.7 | Mr. Luke Hort? |
| 0:11.1 | Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court. |
| 0:14.8 | Alabama conducted its 2021 redistricting in a lawful, |
| 0:20.2 | race neutral manner. |
| 0:21.6 | The state largely retained. |
| 0:22.7 | In the midst of other big news last week, |
| 0:25.5 | you might have missed a Supreme Court decision that was really |
| 0:29.5 | surprising. |
| 0:30.7 | This is a case about congressional redistricting in Alabama. |
| 0:35.0 | Robert Barnes covers the Supreme Court for the post. |
| 0:38.2 | And last week, the court shocked the country |
| 0:40.8 | when it chose to uphold key parts of the Voting Rights Act. |
| 0:44.7 | In a case where Alabama drew its congressional map |
| 0:48.0 | so that the state's black voters would only get one district. |
| 0:51.9 | The state has seven members of Congress. |
| 0:55.2 | It has one district that favors a black candidate, |
| 0:59.8 | even though 27% of the state's voters are black. |
| 1:04.6 | And so this was a challenge, |
| 1:06.2 | to say that the state should have drawn a second congressional |
| 1:10.5 | district in which black voters have the opportunity |
... |
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