A protester holds a sign reading ‘PROTECT VOTER RIGHTS!’ at a 2021 rally in Washington, D.C., advocating for new voting rights legislation.
Source: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The most conservative appeals court in the United States recently heard arguments in a case involving allegedly discriminatory electoral maps in Galveston, Texas. This case has the potential to further weaken the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which includes six judges appointed by Donald Trump among its 17 active judges, is reviewing whether Black and Latino voters can protect their combined electoral influence.
The case, Petteway v. Galveston County, questions the right of minority groups to form “coalition districts” to elect representatives. In October, a federal district judge invalidated new electoral maps created by the Republican-controlled county. These maps had eliminated the only majority-minority district out of four in the county. Judge Jeffrey Brown called this move a “stark and jarring” violation of the Voting Rights Act, describing the maps as “mean-spirited” and “egregious.” The county has since appealed this decision.
Chad Dunn, representing the Black and Latino voters who would be disenfranchised by the new maps, made a fervent argument before the Fifth Circuit. He emphasized the importance of retaining their electoral voice: “Is it too much to ask for one seat at the table?” Dunn argued that justice means allowing these voters to keep their representation: “The majority will still control the policy issues of the day, and will win on many issues four to one. But these people know they have somebody to call who lives down the neighborhood from them, who knows them, who’s lived their experience.” Source: The Guardian
This case is critical as the Voting Rights Act, a key achievement of the civil rights movement, has already been significantly weakened. The US Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder removed the requirement for certain jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing their electoral systems, leading to a surge of voter suppression measures by Republican legislatures.
If the Fifth Circuit sides with Galveston County and upholds the new maps, it would further erode the Voting Rights Act by undermining Section 2, which allows minority groups to form coalition districts.
Joseph Nixon, representing the county, argued that the text of the Voting Rights Act does not explicitly protect coalitions of different minority voters. He contended that such coalitions are political rather than racial and should not be protected under the act: “You just keep stacking minorities until you get a district … There is a desire on behalf of different groups for a political coalition.”
Dunn countered by highlighting that Black and Latino voters in Galveston County often vote similarly, with about 85% supporting Democratic candidates, whereas 85% of white voters support Republicans. He also pointed out that federal courts have recognized the principle of minority coalitions forming districts for 40 years, citing the 1987 ruling in Lulac v. Clements.
Dunn emphasized the importance of legal consistency: “It is the consistent application of the law that gives birth to the rule of law, and creates the confidence that holds our nation together.”
Galveston County includes Galveston Island, the birthplace of Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the US. In the county, 38% of eligible voters are Black and Latino, while 56% are white. Residents of precinct 3, the majority-minority district at risk of being eliminated, fear that losing the case would further discourage African American and Latino voter participation.
“It’s already very difficult to get people to participate,” Roxy Hall Williamson, a community advocate from Galveston Island, told The Guardian last September. “Losing our precinct would definitely deter folks from running for office.”
