High Court Flexible on Redistricting.

• Author: Savage, David G.

The Supreme Court approval of a substantially black North Carolina congressional district may give states more latitude to consider race as they redraw their political maps.

The task of redrawing electoral districts got a bit easier this year, thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The justices, who had earlier condemned "racial gerrymandering," stepped back some-what and said lawmakers can create districts that concentrate blacks, Hispanics or other minorities--so long as they do it for political reasons.

The logic of the ruling works like this: The Constitution generally forbids the government from making decisions based on race. But there is no such legal bar on making decisions on political or partisan grounds. Therefore, if African American voters are shifted into a new district to create a Democratic stronghold, that could be justified as a political decision, not a racial one.

The 5-4 ruling upheld the much disputed central North Carolina district that was drawn to favor a black Democrat. Representative Melvin Watt has represented the 12th District in Congress since 1993.

Five years ago, the high court struck down Watt's majority-black district on a 5-4 vote. A year later, North Carolina lawmakers met in special session and redrew it as a more compact district. Now, about 46 percent of its residents are black. But it was challenged again by some white voters, and a panel of judges in North Carolina declared it unconstitutional. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who previously voted with the conservative majority to strike it down, switched sides and joined the liberal bloc to uphold it this time.

The justices said state lawmakers appeared to be driven by political considerations. From the outset, legislative leaders said they intended to preserve a Democratic district along the Interstate 85 corridor. And African American voters had proved themselves to be reliable Democrats. According to expert testimony at the trial, more than 95 percent of the black voters in the area cast their ballots for Democratic candidates. Many white voters registered as Democrats, but often voted Republican. Not surprisingly then, the state lawmakers moved as many black voters as possible into their Democratic district, the Court said.

"A legislature trying to secure a safe Democratic seat is interested in Democratic voting behavior," said Justice Stephen G. Breyer, speaking for the Court. "Hence, a legislature may, by placing reliable Democratic...