Alito, J., dissenting
on this issue, see Voinovich v. Quilter, 507 U. S. 146, 155–156 (1993); White v. Regester, 412 U. S. 755, 766 (1973), but a plaintiff can satisfy the former burden simply by adducing evidence—in any acceptable form—that race did not predominate.
A plaintiff need not offer computer-related evidence. Once upon a time, legislative maps were drawn without using a computer, and nothing prevents a §2 plaintiff from taking this old-school approach in creating an illustrative district. See, e.g., M. Altman, K. McDonald, & M. McDonald, From Crayons to Computers: The Evolution of Computer Use in Redistricting, 23 Soc. Sci. Computer Rev. 334, 335–336 (2005). In that event, the plaintiff can simply call upon the mapmaker to testify about the process he or she used and the role, if any, that race played in that process. The defendant may seek to refute that testimony in any way that the rules of civil procedure and evidence allow.
If, as will often be the case today, a §2 plaintiff’s mapmaker uses a computer program, the expert can testify about the weight, if any, that the program gives to race. The plaintiff will presumably argue that any role assigned to race was not predominant, and the defendant can contest this by cross-examining the plaintiff’s expert, seeking the actual program in discovery, and calling its own expert to testify about the program’s treatment of race. After this, the trial court will be in a position to determine whether the program gave race a “predominant” role.
This is an entirely workable scheme. It does not obligate either party to offer computer evidence, and it minimizes the likelihood of a clash between what §2 requires and what the Constitution forbids. We have long assumed that §2 is consistent with the Constitution. See, e.g., Cooper, 581 U. S., at 301 (assuming States have a compelling interest in complying with §2); Shaw II, 517 U. S., at 915 (same); Vera, 517 U. S., at 977 (plurality opinion) (same). But that cannot mean that every conceivable interpretation of §2 is
