As requested, I've put together a guide to the main principles and key legal decisions governing the application of the Voting Rights Act in matters of redistricting.
A few opening remarks are in order.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis of the Voting Rights Act or of the relevant jurisprudence. This is meant to set out the core concepts in an accessible and abbreviated manner so as to facilitate the particular sort of discussions that take place here.
The Voting Rights Act is a complex rubric of interlocking parts both within and between Section 2 and Section 5 as they apply to redistricting. If it were simple and straightforward then there would be no need for this guide in the first place.
As such, certain parts of the VRA and its related case law are highly subject to interpretation. Moreover, recent Supreme Court rulings and the 2006 revision to the VRA have not been fully litigated. I have endeavored to provide as objective an account as possible, but there is probably no way that such a guide might be written without some degree of interpretation.
It's quite possible that I've missed some crucial aspect or have inadequately covered some relevant issue or have unduly permitted my personal interpretation to influence my remarks.
In short, I consider this a rough draft. The most expedient way to proceed, in my view, is to post this for discussion and then make additions or modifications as may seem appropriate following subsequent comments.
Any suggestions for improving the format of the presentation are also quite welcome!
So, without further ado, here we go!
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