Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP

Justia · Docket · oyez.org

Argued on Oct 11, 2023.

Appellant: Thomas C. Alexander, in His Official Capacity as President of the South Carolina Senate, et al..
Appellee: The South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al..

Advocates:

• John M. Gore (for the Appellants)

Facts of the case (from oyez.org)

After the 2020 Census, South Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature adopted a new congressional map that moved tens of thousands of Black voters to a different district, effectively making the district a safe seat for Republicans.

The South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP sued, and a three-judge panel concluded that the district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The legislators appealed directly to the Supreme Court, arguing that the map was actually a political gerrymander (which is permissible) that merely had a racial effect.

Question

Does the South Carolina legislature’s redistricting map, which has the effect of moving tens of thousands of Black voters to a different district, constitute an impermissible racial gerrymander, even if the legislators’ purported intent was merely a political gerrymander?