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14 

BRNOVICH v. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE 

Opinion of the Court 

to participate in the political process and to elect rep-
resentatives of their choice.  The extent to which mem-
bers of a protected class have been elected to office in 
the  State  or  political  subdivision  is  one  circumstance 
which  may  be  considered:  Provided,  That  nothing  in 
this  section  establishes  a  right  to  have  members  of  a 
protected class elected in numbers equal to their pro-
portion in the population.”  52 U. S. C. §10301. 

  In Gingles, our seminal §2 vote-dilution case, the Court 
quoted the text of amended §2 and then jumped right to the 
Senate Judiciary Committee Report, which focused on the 
issue of vote dilution.  478 U. S., at 36–37, 43, and n. 7.  Our 
many subsequent vote-dilution cases have largely followed 
the path that Gingles charted.  But because this is our first 
§2 time, place, or manner case, a fresh look at the statutory 
text  is  appropriate.    Today,  our  statutory  interpretation 
cases  almost  always  start  with  a  careful  consideration  of 
the text, and there is no reason to do otherwise here. 

B 
  Section  2(a),  as  noted,  omits  the  phrase  “to  deny  or 
abridge  the  right  . . .  to  vote  on  account  of  race  or  color,” 
which the Bolden plurality had interpreted to require proof 
of  discriminatory  intent.    In  place  of  that  language,  §2(a) 
substitutes the phrase “in a manner which results in a de-
nial  or  abridgement  of  the  right  . . .  to  vote  on  account  of 
race or color.”  (Emphasis added.)  We need not decide what 
this text would mean if it stood alone because §2(b), which 
was added to win Senate approval, explains what must be 
shown to establish a §2 violation.  Section 2(b) states that 
§2 is violated only where “the political processes leading to 
nomination or election” are not “equally open to participa-
tion” by members of the relevant protected group “in that 
its  members  have  less  opportunity  than  other  members  of 
the electorate to participate in the political process and to 
elect representatives of their choice.”  (Emphasis added.)