Your weekly source for analysis and insight from experts at the Brennan Center for Justice
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The Briefing
America is changing, and our electoral maps need to reflect it.
According to the census, communities of color powered the nation’s growth over the last decade. For the first time in American history, people of color accounted for all of the country’s population growth. Of note, Black, Latino, and Asian households have increasingly moved to the suburbs, diversifying once overwhelmingly white communities that fled big cities after World War II.
To spotlight our country’s evolving racial and ethnic makeup, the Brennan Center analyzed
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the demographic trends of four states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. We found that all four states are experiencing rapid population growth among Black, Latino, and Asian communities, which should translate into more political power as states redraw their legislative and congressional maps to better reflect their diversifying populations.
Yet this almost certainly won’t happen.
In all four states, the redistricting process is controlled by one party, in this case, the Republican Party. All four states also have an ugly recent history of redistricting abuses and racial discrimination. And all four states have seen the demographics of their suburbs change dramatically, despite often being originally designed to exclude people of color.
Take Texas, for example.
Over the last decade, people of color accounted for 95 percent of the state’s population growth. The number of Latino Texans now almost equals the number of white, non-Latino Texans. If you were drawing fair maps, you’d expect that the number of districts favorable to Latinos and other communities of color would increase.
Instead, Texas Republicans have blatantly rigged the maps to blunt the political impact of the state’s diversity. Last Friday, Republicans revealed a breathtaking congressional redistricting plan. Despite an almost equal number of Latino Texans and white, non-Latino Texans, the number of white, non-Latino-majority districts (19) nearly doubles the number of Latino-majority districts (10).
“The plan,” says the Houston Chronicle, “creates new congressional districts in 2022 for Houston and Austin while increasing the number of Republicans likely to go to Congress from Texas. And it improves the reelection chances of virtually every Republican in the state’s delegation.”
In other words, the fix is in — and it won’t stay confined to the Lone Star State. Many more states will draw voting maps that give a distinct advantage to either the Democratic or Republican parties.
There are solutions to the scourge of partisan gerrymandering and another decade of discriminatory maps. Congress can stop partisan and racial gerrymandering by passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The Freedom to Vote Act bans partisan gerrymandering in congressional districts and includes protections for communities of color in the map-drawing process. It also gives the courts more power to review maps so discriminatory ones can be quickly challenged in court and fixed.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the “crown jewel” of the civil rights movement. Jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting would have to submit their maps to either the Justice Department or a federal court and get them approved before going into effect. And throughout the nation, the bill would also strengthen the ability of voters to challenge discriminatory maps in a time-sensitive manner.
As my colleague Wendy Weiser told senators in testimony
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last week, the wave of voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering “is part of an alarming effort to whittle down the American electorate and subvert the democratic process. It strikes at the foundation of our democracy and demands a response.”
And that response must come from Congress right away. Otherwise, communities of color all across this nation will be represented by members of Congress that do not have their best interests at heart.
Democracy
The Danger of Partisan Election Reviews
The Cyber Ninjas report commissioned by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate ultimately confirmed President Biden’s win in the state. But the company’s fake audit of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County also accomplished its goal of sowing doubt in our elections and spreading disinformation. Wendy Weiser discussed the risks of groups in other states potentially copying the Cyber Ninjas playbook and the importance of passing the Freedom to Vote Act. “[Disinformation about voter fraud is] being leveraged to suppress votes and roll back voting rights. This is something that absolutely has to be reined in, it’s really dangerous to our democracy,” she said. // MSNBC
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Constitution
The Second Amendment Goes to Court
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, a landmark gun rights case. The Court declined to hear a major Second Amendment case for the past decade. Now, with many of the justices having been backed for confirmation by the case’s main plaintiff, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, we can expect a big and possibly very damaging ruling. Eric Ruben provides a breakdown of the case and the stakes. The precedent set by Bruen could affect how all Second Amendment cases are tried going forward and throw into question past gun restrictions that were already considered settled law. // THE CONVERSATION
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Justice
Private Prison Firms Evade Executive Order
President Biden’s executive order on private prisons was intended to completely stop the U.S. government from contracting with for-profit prison companies, but many of the largest prison operators have instead made deals with local governments to circumvent the order. “While the federal government can house some detainees in local jails, they still crucially depend on the capacity that for-profit firms provide. The executive order has opened a loophole that makes it possible for some privately owned detention centers to continue to operate,” LB Eisen said. // WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Coming Up
VIRTUAL EVENT: White Space, Black Hood: Segregation in the Age of Inequality
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Tuesday, October 26 // 6–7 p.m. ET
Historical housing discrimination has created a modern-day caste system where neighborhood often determines opportunity. These discriminatory policies trap Black people in high-poverty neighborhoods and divert funding towards affluent, predominantly white areas. Does this mean social mobility is now only a myth? Join Georgetown Law professor Sheryll Cashin to discuss her important new book with the Brennan Center’s Ted Johnson. RSVP today.
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Produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center
VIRTUAL EVENT: The Midterms: What to Expect Next November and Beyond
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Thursday, November 4 // 5–6 p.m. ET
Midterm elections always matter — but in this divided era, at a critical junction for countless policy areas, the 2022 midterms will matter more than most. From the role of primary voters to what issues will bring voters to the polls, hear early insights from some of the best in the business: Stephanie Cutter, Obama White House staffer and founding partner of Precision, Shailagh Murray, former Washington Post reporter and deputy chief of staff to then-Vice President Biden, journalist Walter Shapiro, who has covered 11 presidential campaigns, and Alex Castellanos, a strategist for the Bush-Cheney and Romney campaigns and founder of Purple Strategies. RSVP today.
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Produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center
News
Lauren-Brooke Eisen on Alabama building new prisons // MOTHER JONES
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Ames Grawert on state-level criminal justice reforms // DAILY BEAST
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Chisun Lee on reforming the NYC Board of Elections // NY1
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Gowri Ramachandran on Arizona’s partisan election review // CBS NEWS
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Eliza Sweren-Becker on legislation restricting voting access // ROUTE FIFTY
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Dan Weiner on the lack of limitations on super PAC funding // DAILY BEAST
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Have an issue you'd like us to cover? Feedback on this newsletter? Email us at
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The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice.
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
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New York, NY 10271
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