Supreme Court rules on redistricting case.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

In early March, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina Senate district and affirmed that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does not require states to draw districts where a minority group will comprise less than 50 percent of the voting age population.

In the 2000 redistricting cycle, the North Carolina General Assembly created a state Senate district in the southeast part of the state that crossed county lines contrary to the strict prohibition in the state constitution against dividing counties in redistricting. The state argued it was necessary to create a district with a 39 percent African-American population that would allow African-American voters, with additional votes from nonminorities, to elect candidates of their choice, which was required under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The 5-4 ruling was led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote that North Carolina was not required to create a "crossover" district under federal law, so this was not a valid rationale for violating the state constitutional provision. Kennedy said...