Much of the case law is devoted to the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote, but over the past 20 years, more and more of the case law has addressed the impermissible uses of race in redistricting. According to the College Board, these cases are essential to college courses in introductory history and politics. [16], The Voting Rights Act of 1965 lead to the rise of the Shaw v. Reno court case which allowed for more representation of the Black (minority) representation in the state of North Carolina. The majority found that North Carolinas twelfth district was so extremely irregular that its creation suggested some sort of racial bias. They alleged that the General Assembly deliberately "create[d] two Congressional Districts in which a majority of black voters was concentrated arbitrarily--without regard to any other considerations, such as compactness, contiguousness, geographical boundaries, or political subdivisions" with the purpose "to create Congressional Districts along racial lines" and to assure the election of two black representatives to Congress. "The right to vote freely for the candidate of one's choice is of the essence of a democratic society."Reynolds v. Sims[1964]. This case involves two of the most complex and sensitive issues this Court has faced in recent years: the meaning of the constitutional "right" to vote, and the propriety of race-based state legislation designed to benefit members of historically disadvantaged racial minority groups. Appellants allege that the revised plan, which contains district boundary lines of dramatically irregular shape, constitutes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Justice Department accepted this revision. A federal court upheld the plan as not violating the "one person one vote" principle nor violating the Equal Protection Clause. Shaw v. Reno: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact - ThoughtCo In this unanimous decision, it was decided that districts did indeed dilute Black votes and therefore did violate the Voting Rights Act. These cases will help you further enhance your knowledge of the AP Government curriculum. endobj The group claimed that the districts were racial gerrymanders that violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.