美国国家公共电台 NPR--Court ruling on Black political power in Alabama could affect maps in other states

Court ruling on Black political power in Alabama could affect maps in other states

Transcript¹

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers have to redraw congressional district lines after a significant U.S. Supreme² Court ruling that could affect political maps across the South for years to come.

In a 5-4 decision released Thursday, the justices upheld a key section of the Voting Rights Act as they found that a congressional map drawn³ by Alabama's Republican-controlled legislature after the 2020 census⁴ diluted⁶ the power of Black voters in a state where 1 in 4 residents is Black.

"The point of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act emphasizes that you cannot dilute⁵ political voting power," said JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama. "And that's exactly what this was: a dilution⁷ of Black political voting power in the state."

Joe Reed, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference, was also happy with the ruling, which gives Black Democrats⁸ a chance at a second congressional seat in the state.

"If we got two majority-Black districts," Reed said, "in all probability we'll get, we get a second Black congressman⁹. And in all probability, if we have anything to say about it, we gonna try to make it a Democratic congressman."

Reed spoke¹⁰ while sitting in front of a large congressional map that he called a near-perfect plan. The existing map has seven districts, with one majority-Black representative. This new map showed two majority-Black districts.

Joe Reed sits next to his preferred Alabama congressional map.

Kyle Gassiott/Troy Public Radio

Republicans in the state faulted the decision.

GOP Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement: "I am disappointed in today's Supreme Court opinion but it remains¹¹ the commitment of the Secretary of State's Office to comply with all applicable election laws."

A few House seats could swing

The Supreme Court's ruling is likely to have effects beyond Alabama.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the U.S. House, and this decision could provide a roadmap for other gerrymandering challenges.

Just in the South, there are similar court challenges to congressional maps in Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia, where the Voting Rights Act would apply.

In Georgia, plaintiffs in a case there argue that Republican-drawn maps made a metro¹² Atlanta district whiter and friendlier to the GOP — despite people of color driving the state's population growth. A judge last year ruled it was too late to change the maps before midterm elections, but wrote he had reason to believe they may violate the Voting Rights Act.

Redone maps could result, according to some experts, in a few more majority-Black and Democratic seats in the House, so that could shift power in Washington, D.C. — and in areas throughout the South.

In a statement, Evan Milligan — a lead plaintiff in the Alabama case, Allen v. Milligan, and executive director of the group Alabama Forward — said: "Moving forward, we will continue organizing to ensure that all states draw accurately¹³ representative maps that include the say of Black and Brown communities."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

6 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

7 dilution   

n.稀释，淡化

参考例句：

• There is no hard and fast rule about dilution.至于稀释程度，没有严格的规定。
• He attributed this to a dilution effect of the herbicide.他把这归因于除草剂的稀释效应。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

13 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。