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24 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 173 (1989)
Maps and Misreadings: The Role of Geographic Compactness in Racial Vote Dilution Litigation

handle is hein.journals/hcrcl24 and id is 181 raw text is: MAPS AND MISREADINGS: THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC COMPACTNESS IN RACIAL VOTE DILUTION LITIGATION Pamela S. Karlan* This is an essay on how to think about, measure and remedy racial inequality in the political process. Modem vote dilution litigation began in 1964 with Reynolds v. Sims,' in which the Supreme Court held that the right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizen's vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise.'2 Five years later, in Allen v. State Board of Elec- tions,3 the Court relied on Reynolds to hold that diluting the voting strength of racial minorities would violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which forbade the use of electoral practices that denied the right to vote on account of race.4 In this Article, I examine two themes that run throughout the past quarter century of vote dilution litigation: the proper role of geographic factors and the meaning of effective access to the political process. Reynolds represented a decisive rejection of a conception of representation that allocated the opportunity to exercise ef- * Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law. As Justice Holmes stated, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived. O.W. Holmes, Memorial Day in The Occasional Speeches of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes 6-7 (M. Howe ed. 1962). I owe many of my ideas to having participated, as a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., in several of the cases discussed in this article, particularly the Dillard litigation. I owe even more to the attorneys, expert witnesses, and clients who shared their insights and passion for justice with me: James Blacksher, Richard Engstrom, Bernard Grofman, Jerome Gray, Lani Guinier, Robert McDuff, Larry Menefee, Frank Parker, Edward Still, Napoleon B. Williams, Jr., and Leslie Winner. In addition, Daniel Ortiz, Saul Levmore, Bill Stuntz, Glen Robinson, Michael Schill, Paul Gewirtz and Reinier Kraakman made many thoughtful and thought-provok- ing suggestions. Finally, Chris Herren and Mark Trank were exceptional research assistants. 1 377 U.S. 533 (1964). 2 Id. at 555. 3 393 U.S. 544, 569 (1969). 4 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 to 1973bb-1 (1982 & Supp. IV 1986).

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