Cracking is a form of gerrymandering that consists of drawing district boundaries to spread a particular community thinly across multiple districts to split their vote and lessen the effectiveness of their votes. For example, a large minority neighborhood may be split into pieces, even down to the street level, to ensure that their preferred candidate is not elected in any of the districts.
Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing political or electoral districts with the intention of enabling the party charged with redistricting to remain in power. This practice often results in districts with bizarre shapes.
Does the Texas legislature’s 2003 congressional redistricting plan unconstitutionally discriminate on the basis of race, constitute unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, and/or dilute the voting strength of minorities in violation of the Voting Rights Act; and can states redraw congressional maps twice in the same decade when a valid plan exists?
After a decades-long dominance of the Texas congressional delegation by Democratic representatives, the Republican Party won a majority of seats by virtue of new Congressional district lines as reflected by the state's population growth in the 2000 Census. However, the legislature failed to redistrict the state in time for the elections, which were then governed by a district court-drawn plan. After the elections, the new Republican majority engaged in a rare mid-term redistricting plan to replace the court's map. A number of individuals and organizations sued to prevent the redistricting on a variety of grounds. The Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of the Texas redistricting plan under analyses of due process, equal protection political, racial gerrymandering, and the Voting Rights Act.
1. Whether the 2003 Texas Congressional Redistricting Plan (Plan 1374C), adopted and developed using outdated, inaccurate 2000 Census data and resulting in malapportioned districts, in violation of one person, one vote when measured against 2003 Census data, and when “the single-minded purpose of the Texas Legislature in enacting Plan 1374C was to gain partisan advantage” and when such purpose is realized, is an unconstitutional political gerrymander.
2. Whether proof of racially polarized voting is overcome by evidence of partisan affiliation of minority voters in the analysis of the second prong of Gingles in a minority vote dilution claim.
The U.S. Constitution requires states to reapportion their respective congressional seats based on population changes reflected by the U.S. Census Bureau’s decennial census. See U.S. Const. art. I, § 2.
Packing is a form of gerrymandering that consists of drawing district boundaries to “pack” a particular community into a small number of highly consolidated electoral districts to limit the effectiveness of their voting power. For example, a minority community may be condensed to one district in order to limit their voting power instead of being equitably spread amongst several districts.
