Professor Chris Chambers Goodman, "Which People Get to Decide?" -- American Constitution Society Blog

Professor Chris Chambers Goodman's piece, "Which People Get to Decide?," is published in the American Constitution Society blog's Expert Forum. The article considers the U.S Supreme Court's recent decision in Merrill v. Milligan and political redistricting maps, voter registration, and access laws. 

Excerpt from "Which People Get to Decide?" 

The short-term results of affirmative racial gerrymandering helped to make up for past racial discrimination in voting districts, and for the dilution of the voting strength of people of color in many jurisdictions. SCOTUS has explained that whether race is used for racial reasons or for political reasons, strict scrutiny applies and the state needs to have a compelling interest and narrow tailoring. But the long-term effect of using race to form districts, even though constitutionally permissible, means that there is backlash, and like the 14th Amendment, which was specifically adopted to provide equal protection of the laws to freed slaves, and the 15th Amendment, which prevented voting restrictions based on race, color or previous condition of servitude, was twisted to prevent remedial actions that sought to equalize opportunities by providing more to some people, and less to other people.

The complete article may be found at ACS Expert Forum