NewsMax.com
Monday, November 27, 2000

According to the Associated Press:

Now before the highest court is a landmark case, expected to be decided by July, that could have a major effect on the racial makeup of voting districts nationwide.

The decision would come just in time to determine how the 2000 census data is used as state legislatures redraw their congressional districts' lines.

On Monday, the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on whether a lower court ruled correctly that North Carolina's 12th district – 46 percent of whose registered voters are black – was an "impermissible and unconstitutional racial gerrymander" because race was the "predominant factor" in its creation.

Attorneys for North Carolina – supported by the Clinton-Gore administration – argue that the district should be allowed to stand as drawn because it was configured mainly on political considerations.

The Clinton-Gore administration told the justices that the North Carolina case was "likely to be its final opportunity" to outline new standards before new election districts are created with 2000 census figures.

The 12th district, which embraces Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, is represented by Democrat Mel Watt, one of two blacks elected to Congress in 1992 from a state that had not sent a black to Washington since 1901.

Attorneys for residents challenging the districting argue that it was designed "with the purpose to assure a racially determined result in the primary . . . specifically to ensure that only a candidate of one preordained race will be elected."

North Carolina contends its primary purpose was to create a safe Democratic district to maintain the 6-6 split between Republicans and Democrats in the state's congressional delegation.

The black precincts that were added to the 12th district were more likely than nearby white precincts to vote for Democratic candidates, the state's lawyers said.