Commercial Appeal - Cohen asks Justice Department to look into ‘packing' of legislative districts

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to take a close look at the practice of “packing” minorities, especially African-Americans, into a single legislative district to reduce their overall influence.

“All Americans hold dear the sacred, constitutionally-protected right to vote, and we too often take for granted the principle of ‘one person, one vote,’” the Memphis Democrat wrote in a letter to the attorney general.

While packing may be done under the pretext of protecting minorities or ensuring they are represented, “recent ‘packing’ efforts actually have the opposite result, materially reducing the impact and influence of African-Americans in our democracy,” Cohen wrote. “It is no coincidence that the five congressional districts with the most African-Americans are all in the Deep South — and it demonstrates that there is much work to be done to truly emerge from the shadows of slavery and Jim Crow.”

Cohen is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, which has jurisdiction over issues relating to voting rights.