An evaluation of the electoral and behavioral impact of majoirty-minority districs

The Voting Rights Act (VRA), passed in 1964, has played a critical role in increasing the number of African American and Latino elected officials. Section 5 of the act requires covered jurisdictions to seek preclearance for any new voting practice or procedure from either the D.C. District Court or the U.S. Attorney General. In 1965, the definition of covered jurisdictions extended only to the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia and forty counties in North Carolina. Since then, the definition of a covered jurisdiction has been expanded so that all of Alaska, Arizona, and Texas as well as selected portions of California, New Hampshire, Michigan, New York, and South Dakota are covered under the VRA. Section 2 of the act, further, makes it possible for minorities to sue in federal court to protect their voting rights. In 1975, Congress extended VRA coverage to include language minorities.