On Tuesday, three lawsuits were filed in state courts in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania alleging “malapportioned” congressional maps (and statehouse maps in the case of Minnesota). Malapportionment challenges seek to invalidate a map for use in future elections until its population is rebalanced among districts through redistricting. All three suits were filed on behalf of voters in the three states by The National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder. A copy of each complaint is here: Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
The suits were filed in anticipation of gridlock between the legislature and executive branch, especially in the case of Pennsylvania, which lost a U.S. House seat after the 2020 census. Generally, malapportionment lawsuits such as these are filed in courts after detailed population data is released showing district deviations and after states fail to redraw maps due to some sort of political impasse. The NRAF lawsuits use census survey data collected over the years to anticipate district deviations and allege that the parties involved in redrawing maps in these states will likely fail to agree on a suitable map before the 2022 elections. The court would then need to ensure a suitable map is used for the election. While the potential for gridlock always exists in many states, this redistricting cycle has intensified its likelihood given significant census data delays and as a result, shortened time period for redrawing maps.
