Opinion ID: 773533
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Election Districts: Size, Multi-Member, and Majority Vote Requirement

Text: 48 Of the remaining factors, the district court did not find favorably for Wilson. It found that the districts at issue were necessarily large, but are not used in potentially discriminatory procedures or voting practices. The effects of multi-member districts is a moot question because the electoral districts for public service and transportation commissioners are single member districts. 49 Regarding the majority vote requirement, the district court reasoned that the requirement itself was not discriminatory. See Magnolia Bar, 793 F. Supp. at 1409 (Although abolition of the majority vote requirement . . . might increase chances for electoral success of [African-American] candidates, a majority vote requirement is not inherently discriminatory.). Wilson argues, however, that the use of a majority vote requirement in majority white voting age population election districts that experience racially polarized voting constitutes minority vote dilution. See Clark II, 88 F.3d at 1398 (observing that under certain circumstances, the majority vote requirement 'can operate to the detriment of minority voters' and negate their potential strength) (quoting Westwego II, 946 F.2d at 113 n.4). The facts in Clark II, however, differ from the facts on record in the case at bar. 50 In Clark II, the specter of racially polarized voting combining with the majority vote requirement to dilute minority voting strength was more than a mere theoretical possibility. Id. Tommy Pittman (Pittman), the only African-American Democratic candidate for Constable, finished first in the primary among all of the other candidates, who were white, but Pittman lost the run-off election. Id. at 1399. Wilson briefly mentioned the defeat of Roger Crowder (Crowder) in a 1995 run-off election for agriculture commissioner, but presented no supporting facts to show that racial bloc voting caused his defeat. Interestingly, Wilson's own proof regarding the 1995 election reveals that Crowder received 47% of the white vote in counties with more than 80% white voting age populations. Thus, based on Wilson's evidence, the district court did not err in making its finding under the majority vote requirement factor in favor of Fordice.