NOTE: The answers below were written prior to the decision to create 6 majority Black voting districts in Rochester. The Q&A is offered as context for why SPARC and other community advocates fought so hard for change (and won!).
Q & A
What do we have currently that minority voters participate in within our electoral system?
We currently have what we call majority-minority districts.
What is a majority-minority district?
A majority-minority district is an electoral district, such as a United States congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities
Majority-minority districts may be created to avoid or remedy violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965‘s prohibitions on drawing redistricting plans that diminish the ability of a racial or language minority to elect its candidates of choice.
This configuration also forces minority groups to vote in coalition in order to choose their candidate of choice.
What is a Black majority district?
It is an electoral district, such as a United States congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents in that district are a specific racial or ethnic minority, entitled to increased proportionate voting representation, based on Census data and passing a series of criteria embedded in the Gingles Standard Test warranting the creation of this electoral district.
A Black majority district may be created by redrawing a redistricting map only after considering the census data for that particular minority group in terms of its increase in eligible voting age percentage and whether this particular minority group can also pass what is called the Gingles Standard Test. If the minority group passes the four criteria of Gingles, legislators must engage in redistricting of maps to address voter enfranchisement, and proportionate representation within the political system for that minority group or else they may be in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
A minority group that has its own designated electoral district has the freedom to not have to vote in coalition with other minority groups in order to choose their candidate of choice.
Is there such a thing as an “Effective Black Voting District”?
There is no legal electoral district designation as an “Effective Black Voting District”. This language is often used by power brokers who choose to confuse voters. Minority voters are either put into a majority-minority district with other minorities or they are given their own specific district if entitled to it through a redistricting map process that considers census data and a series of criteria guided by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This criterion, is referred to as the Gingles Standard.