SECTION 2 OF THE VOTING-RIGHTS ACT, DISTRICTING FORMATS, AND THE ELECTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS

This research note examines the relationship between districting format and the racial makeup of Georgia county commissions from 1981 to 1991. As Section 2 of the 1982 Voting Rights Act was implemented, the relationship between the racial composition of the electorate and the racial makeup of the commission strengthened appreciably in single-member district and mixed systems but not in at-large electoral systems. The relationship between racial makeup of the electorate and of the governing body is at times weaker in single-member counties than was observed in single-member cities in the 1970s and is weaker in at-large counties than has been observed in cities. In part, the differences may be attributable to an improved measure of African American political influence used in this study.