Page:Allen v. Milligan.pdf/2

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(1) This Court first addressed the 1982 amendments to §2 in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U. S. 30, and has for the last 37 years evaluated §2 claims using the Gingles framework. Gingles described the “essence of a §2 claim” as when “a certain electoral law, practice, or structure interacts with social and historical conditions to cause an inequality in the opportunities enjoyed by black and white voters.” Id., at 47. That occurs where an “electoral structure operates to minimize or cancel out” minority voters’ “ability to elect their preferred candidates.” Id., at 48. Such a risk is greatest “where minority and majority