The Apportionment Plan

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 establishes protections for geographically cohesive minority communities and “communities of interest.” In short, Section 2 of the law prohibits “unusually large electoral districts” (such as at-large districts), where the votes of a minority can be subsumed by the votes of the majority. The VRA thus requires, where possible, the creation of at least one majority-minority voting district. Given Columbus demographics and living patterns, the group that the Voting Rights Act would protect in Columbus is African American/Black (the other demographic group with sufficient numbers to form a cohesive voting block is Hispanic, but the geographic dispersal of Hispanics across the metropolis makes creation of a majority Hispanic district impossible). The Columbus Fair Elections Plan establishes two majority-Black districts: Districts 2 and 3. See the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s letters to Columbus expressing concern over our at-large elections being possible violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.