Cite as: 517 U. S. 952 (1996)
Kennedy, J., concurring
a single-member district'; second, 'that it is politically cohesive'; and third, 'that the white majority votes sufficiently as a bloc to enable it . . . usually to defeat the minority's preferred candidate.' " Growe v. Emison, 507 U. S. 25, 40 (1993), quoting Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U. S. 30, 50-51 (1986).
The first Gingles condition refers to the compactness of the minority population, not to the compactness of the contested district. As the plurality observes: "If, because of the dispersion of the minority population, a reasonably compact majority-minority district cannot be created, § 2 does not require a majority-minority district . . . ." Ante, at 979. We may assume, as the plurality does expressly, ibid., that there was sufficient evidence of racial polarization to fulfill the second and third Gingles conditions, and we may assume, as must be done to reach the narrow-tailoring question, that the African-American and Hispanic populations in Harris County and the African-American population in Dallas County were each concentrated enough to form a majority in a reasonably compact district, thereby meeting the first Gingles condition.
If a State has the assumed compelling interest in avoiding § 2 liability, it still must tailor its districts narrowly to serve that interest. "[T]he districting that is based on race [must] 'substantially addres[s] the § 2 violation.' " Ante, at 977 (quoting Shaw v. Hunt, ante, at 918 (Shaw II)). The State may not engage in districting based on race except as reasonably necessary to cure the anticipated § 2 violation, nor may it use race as a proxy to serve other interests. Ante, at 979. The plurality gives as an example of the former the fact that "District 30 . . . reaches out to grab small and apparently isolated minority communities which, based on the evidence presented, could not possibly form part of a compact majority-minority district." Ibid. (referring to tentacles of District 30 that coil around outlying African-American communities in Collin and Tarrant Counties, ante, at 965-
997
Page: Index Previous 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007