"WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the Voting Rights Act, ruling that a measure aimed at helping minorities elect their preferred candidates only applies in electoral districts where minorities number more than 50% of the voting-age population. The decision could make it harder for some minority candidates to win election and for Southern Democrats, in particular, to draw friendly electoral boundaries after the 2010 Census. The 5-4 ruling rejected arguments that the voting act could require legislative mapmakers to draw so-called crossover districts -- those with a substantial but less than 50% nonwhite population. In a crossover district, the idea is that minority voters would create alliances with white voters to elect their chosen candidates." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet