Colorblind Redistricting: Racial Proxies as a Solution to the Court's Voting Rights Act Quandry

Authors

Michelle E. O'Connor-Ratcliff

Abstract

This Note explores the crossroads of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, redistricting, strict scrutiny, the colorblind ideal, and racial proxies. Although better than total rejection of race as a consideration in redistricting, racial proxies are not good enough. The unattained colorblind ideal should not be treated as if it were reality. We are not yet a colorblind society and are likely a long way from it. Race awareness does have a part to play in building America into the Court's dream utopia that eventually becomes colorblind. Racial proxies only prompt states to pretend that race is not a factor - encouraging false colorblindness and promoting a semantic differentiation to justify the end result of majority-minority districting. States should be allowed to increase minority representation out in the open, instead of hiding under the guise of a proxy. The Court should drop the pretext of stare decisis and recognize that it has made a mistake in establishing strict scrutiny of beneficial racial classifications, especially in the voting rights context.

Recommended Citation

Michelle E. O'Connor-Ratcliff, Colorblind Redistricting: Racial Proxies as a Solution to the Court's Voting Rights Act Quandry, 29 Hastings Const. L.Q. 61 (2001).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol29/iss1/2