938
Stevens, J., dissenting
would accommodate the needs of Democratic incumbents. Id., at 466-467.14
If the Democrats remain in control of the districting process after the remand in this case, it will be interesting to see whether they will be willing to sacrifice one or more Democratic-majority districts in order to create at least two districts with effective minority voting majorities. My review of the history revealed in the findings of the District Court persuades me that political considerations will probably take priority over racial considerations in the immediate future, just as they surely did during the process of rejecting the Republican Plan and ultimately adopting the plan challenged in this case.15
A deliberate effort to consolidate urban voters in one district and rural voters in another also explains District 12's highly irregular shape. Before District 12 had been drawn, members of the public as well as legislators had urged that "the observance of distinctive urban and rural communities of interest should be a prime consideration in the general redistricting process." Id., at 466. As a result, the legislature was naturally attracted to a plan that, although less than esthetically pleasing, included both District 12, which links the State's major urban centers, and District 1, which has a population that predominantly lives in cities with populations of less than 20,000. Id., at 467.
14 It is ironic that despite the clear indications that party politics explain the district's odd shape, the Court affirmed the District Court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' partisan gerrymandering claim. See Pope v. Blue, 506 U. S. 801 (1992).
15 Interestingly, the Justice Department concluded that it was the State's impermissible desire to favor white incumbents over African-American voters that explained North Carolina's refusal to create a second district and thus gave rise to a violation of the purpose prong of § 5 of the Voting Rights Act. See Shaw I, 509 U. S. 630, 635 (1993). Of course, the white plaintiffs before us here have no standing to object to District 12 on similar grounds.
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