politics
Lawsuit Filed Against Illinois Voting Rights Act, Alleging Unconstitutional Use of Race in Redistricting
A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court alleges that Illinois districting criteria violate the U.S. Constitution by elevating race as a primary purpose in legislative line drawing. The Public Interest Legal Foundation brought the case on behalf of resident Jeanne Ives against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and election officials, citing the Illinois Voting Rights Act and a recent Supreme Court ruling.
May 12, 11:28 AM·2m read1 source
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A new lawsuit announced on Monday alleges that Illinois districting criteria violate the United States Constitution by elevating race as a primary purpose in legislative line drawing. U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
Defendants are Democrat Gov. B. Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Elections and its executive director Bernadette Matthews.
It argues the state’s practices run afoul of the Fifteenth Amendment and Section 2(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Illinois Voting Rights Act requires the creation of crossover districts, coalition districts or influence districts when drawing legislative districts pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution.
The law defines a crossover district as one in which a racial minority or language minority constitutes less than a majority of the voting-age population but is potentially large enough to elect the candidate of its choice with crossover support from majority voters.
A coalition district is one where more than one group of racial minorities or language minorities may form a coalition to elect the candidate of the coalition’s choice. An influence district is defined as one in which a racial minority or language minority can influence the outcome of an election even if its preferred candidate cannot be elected.
Jeanne Ives argues that the Illinois Voting Rights Act mandates explicit consideration of race and holds a brazen impermissible racial purpose in violation of the Fifteenth Amendment and Section 2(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
