494
Souter, J., dissenting
with an opportunity to elect a particularly powerful candidate, ante, at 483-484. On either alternative, the § 5 requirement that voting changes be nonretrogressive is substantially diminished and left practically unadministrable.
A
The Court holds that a State can carry its burden to show a nonretrogressive degree of minority "influence" by demonstrating that " 'candidates elected without decisive minority support would be willing to take the minority's interests into account.' " Ante, at 482 (quoting Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U. S. 30, 100 (1986) (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment)). But this cannot be right.
The history of § 5 demonstrates that it addresses changes in state law intended to perpetuate the exclusion of minority voters from the exercise of political power. When this Court held that a State must show that any change in voting procedure is free of retrogression it meant that changes must not leave minority voters with less chance to be effective in electing preferred candidates than they were before the change. "[T]he purpose of § 5 has always been to insure that no voting-procedure changes would be made that would lead to a retrogression in the position of racial minorities with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise." Beer v. United States, 425 U. S. 130, 141 (1976); see, e. g., id., at 140-141 ("Section 5 was intended 'to insure that [the gains thus far achieved in minority political participation] shall not be destroyed through new [discriminatory] procedures and techniques' " (quoting S. Rep. No. 94-295, p. 19 (1975))). In addressing the burden to show no retrogression, therefore, "influence" must mean an opportunity to exercise power effectively.
The Court, however, says that influence may be adequate to avoid retrogression from majority-minority districts when it consists not of decisive minority voting power but of sentiment on the part of politicians: influence may be sufficient
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