310
Opinion of O'Connor, J.
Rights Act, 42 U. S. C. §§ 1973, 1973c, or that traditional winner-take-all elections are required on a statewide basis. Rather, as cross-appellants acknowledge, Brief for Cross-Appellants in No. 01-1596, pp. 27-28; Tr. of Oral Arg. 47-48, a court could design an at-large election plan that awards seats on a cumulative basis, or by some other method that would result in a plan that satisfies the Voting Rights Act. Cf. Growe v. Emison, 507 U. S. 25, 40 (1993); Rogers v. Lodge, 458 U. S. 613, 616-617 (1982); Holder v. Hall, 512 U. S. 874, 897-898, 908-912 (1994) (Thomas, J., concurring in judgment); Dillard v. Chilton County Bd. of Ed., 699 F. Supp. 870 (MD Ala. 1988); see also S. Issacharoff, P. Karlan, & R. Pildes, The Law of Democracy 1091-1151 (rev. 2d ed. 2002); Pildes & Donoghue, Cumulative Voting in the United States, 1995 U. Chi. Legal F. 241, 251-257.
In short, I cannot agree that the phrase "[u]ntil a State is redistricted in the manner provided by the law thereof" contains any sort of "imminence" requirement, a requirement without any statutory mooring. And although the plurality claims to hold that § 2c does not impliedly repeal § 2a(c), the plurality's opinion makes sense only if § 2c serves as a partial implied repeal of § 2a(c). It is difficult to say, as the plurality does, that § 2a(c) "continues to apply," ante, at 273, and also to say, as the plurality does, that § 2a(c) applies only if "the election is so imminent that no entity competent to complete redistricting pursuant to . . . the mandate of § 2c [ ] is able to do so without disrupting the election process." Ante, at 275. Unless and until Congress expressly repeals § 2a(c), I would hold that federal courts are required to order some form of at-large elections "[u]ntil a State is redistricted in the manner provided by the law thereof after any apportionment."
III
Having concluded that § 2a(c) applies "[u]ntil a State is redistricted in the manner provided by the law thereof after any apportionment," it is necessary to consider the question
Page: Index Previous 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007