The SCOTUS  handed conservative challengers a loss Monday in a key voting rights case.In a unanimous result, the court said a state can draw legislative districts based on total population. At issue in the case was the "one person, one vote" principle dating back to the 1960s, when the court held that state legislative districts must be drawn so they are equal in population.

The case was brought by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as way of trying to further shape the electorate to benefit Republican, but the High Court saw through the scheme.

The Obama administration and state of Texas opposed the lawsuit. Civil rights groups watched the case carefully, fearful that if the court were to rule with the plaintiffs, it could potentially shift power from urban areas -- districts that tend to include a higher percentage of individuals not eligible to vote such as non-citizens, released felons and children -- to rural areas that are more likely to favor Republicans.

The Abbott case does illustrate how far Republicans are willing to go denying Americans the right to voice and representation in their own government. The conservative plan would have created more white and rural voting districts that would have kept local, state, and federal elected positions in Republican hands permanently.

What Republicans were attempting to do in this case was to reshape and rig the playing field in future elections. The Republican Party can’t win on ideas and policies, so they are trying to cheat. The Abbott case was a direct assault on the one of the most fundamental principles of our representative democracy.

Last edited by DollyLongstaff (4/04/2016 11:11 am)