Congressman Cohen: Supreme Court Should End "Packing" Efforts That Rob African-Americans of Voting Power

Press Release

As the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case regarding the legality of legislative maps drawn to minimize the political power of African-Americans, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today condemned the increasing use of this racially-biased redistricting practice, known as "packing," across the Deep South. Congressman Cohen, the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, also urged U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to do what he can to protect the voting rights of all Americans from district packing in a letter sent last month.

"While it may be done under the pretext of protecting minorities or ensuring they are represented, recent "packing' efforts actually have the opposite result, materially reducing the impact and influence of African-Americans in our democracy," said Congressman Cohen. "It is no coincidence that the five congressional districts with the most African-Americans are all in the Deep South--and it demonstrates that there is much work to be done to truly emerge from the shadows of slavery and Jim Crow. The Supreme Court should put a stop to this shameful tactic and fully protect the constitutional rights of every American, regardless of skin color."

As The Nation magazine's Ari Berman pointed out in his February 2012 report entitled "How the GOP Is Resegregating the South," packing districts is a crucial part of Republican efforts to enhance Republican power throughout the South at the expense of minority voters and their voting rights. Prominent Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsburg even dubbed this strategy with the vulgar term, "Project Ratf***". In October, a federal court actually declared a district drawn using packing methods unconstitutional, holding that race was a primary factor in the redrawing of Virginia's Third Congressional District.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice has jurisdiction over issues relating to voting rights. Ranking Member Cohen has long fought to ensure that voting rights are protected throughout the United States. In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several critical protections of the Voting Rights Act but left the door open for Congress to restore those protections, the Congressman has strongly and repeatedly called on House leadership to allow a vote to do just that. Congressman Cohen is a cosponsor of the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, which would address the Supreme Court's ruling and restore the full protections originally included by the authors of the Voting Rights Act.

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