Erasing Section 2
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
This chapter traces the evolution of Section 2 of the VRA since 1982. It shows how Section 2 displaced scores of electoral structures that inhibited minority political participation; how, in so doing, it fostered the proliferation of majority-minority electoral districts nationwide; and how judicial distaste and ultimately opposition to these districts fueled sweeping decisions that dramatically narrowed Section 2’s reach. The chapter also describes recently articulated limits the Supreme Court has placed on Section 2 vote denial--as distinct from dilution--claims; and the way in which Section 2 doctrine in this arena now aligns with constitutional doctrine governing the right to vote under the Anderson-Burdick framework. The chapter argues that the systematic erosion of Section 2 stems from judicial apprehension that the provision, if read broadly, would, first, devolve into a mandate for proportional representation and, second, wholly supplant local control over elections. It closes by showing that these fears are largely unfounded, as the actual record of Section 2 litigation makes clear that the feared scenarios never came close to being realized.
Recommended Citation
Katz, Ellen D., "Erasing Section 2" (2023). Public Law & Legal Theory Working Papers. 90.
https://repository.law.umich.edu/pub_law_archive/90