蜜桃传媒 Emphasizes Mobile鈥檚 Legal Obligations Under Voting Rights Act in Letter to Mayor, City Council
Concerned voters fear future city council district boundaries & annexation efforts would diminish political power in majority-Black, majority-minority city
MOBILE, Ala. - Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (蜜桃传媒) urged in a letter the Mayor and City Council of Mobile, Alabama, to consider their 鈥渁ffirmative obligation鈥� under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) in upcoming political map drawing. Sent on behalf of concerned Mobile residents, the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 letter specifically highlighted concerns regarding the boundaries of city council districts as well as potential future annexation efforts in the city. Mobile is now both majority-Black and majority-minority, according to the recently released 2020 U.S. Census data.聽
鈥淔or decades, discriminatory redistricting and annexations have been used as a tool to dilute the political power of Black communities in Alabama and therefore deny them their fair share of resources,鈥� said Caren Short, senior supervising attorney for the 蜜桃传媒. 鈥淏ecause the annexation efforts proposed by certain Mobile officials could undermine Mobile residents鈥� right to fair and equitable representation on the city council, we strongly urge the Mayor and City Council to comply with federal law and adhere to the Voting Rights Act when drawing political maps that will last a decade.鈥澛�
The emailed letter notes that Mobile鈥檚 City Council is currently composed of seven councilmembers 鈥� four of whom are white and elected from majority-white districts. In a majority-Black and majority-minority city, the letter states, a new map with similar composition may run afoul of Section 2 of the VRA, which requires that lawmakers ensure voters of color have 鈥渁n equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice.鈥澛�
The 蜜桃传媒 also details how annexation of land with white population into the city 鈥� without annexation of land that includes comparable Black population 鈥� would likely violate Section 2 of the VRA because such action would serve to dilute Black political power. 聽
听础蝉 reported by the 蜜桃传媒 to Congress earlier this year, such tactics are not new in the history of Alabama. If passed by Congress in the coming weeks, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would potentially trigger federal oversight of Mobile鈥檚 political maps to ensure they comply with Section 2 of the VRA before they are implemented.聽
The letter to Mobile officials is available in full here:聽
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