Maryland State Court Throws Out 2021 Congressional Map Citing Extreme Gerrymandering

By EditorMar 27, 2022
On Friday, the Senior Judge of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County signed an order prohibiting use of the congressional map that the Maryland legislature approved - over a gubernatorial veto - during a special session in December 2021. State officials were given five days to redraw the map. The legislature is currently in session until April 11. There is no word on whether the state will appeal. Read the order and opinion. The ruling concerned consolidated cases against the map by several plaintiffs and is notable as it makes Maryland among the first few states to fall victim…
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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Stay Request in Pennsylvania Congressional Map Challenge

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Stay Request in Pennsylvania Congressional Map Challenge

By EditorMar 10, 2022
Pennsylvania's new congressional map was adopted by the State Supreme Court in February -after the governor vetoed the legislature's map - but a new lawsuit is looking to federal courts to allow the state's congressional representatives to be elected at large in the upcoming 2022 election. On March 7, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency stay order request that would have accomplished this quickly. Instead, the matter is before a three-judge court whose decision may be appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The crux of the challenge is that the State Supreme Court does not have the authority…
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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Request to Block North Carolina Court’s Congressional Map

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Request to Block North Carolina Court’s Congressional Map

By EditorMar 08, 2022
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency application for a stay of the North Carolina State supreme court's decision to invalidate the congressional map that the legislature enacted in 2021 and the state trial court's decision to block a second map enacted by the legislature on February 17. If the high court had granted an emergency stay, the upcoming 2022 elections would have been conducted under the legislature's Feb. 17 map, while the court considered the case for a decision at some later date. Read the court's order. Map and Court Decision Timeline Feb. 23 2022: A state…
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Kansas Congressional Map Gets 2 Challenges in State Court

Kansas Congressional Map Gets 2 Challenges in State Court

By EditorFeb 16, 2022
On Tuesday Feb. 14, two challenges to the controversial "Ad Astra 2" Kansas congressional map were filed in state court. The lawsuits were brought about by individual Democratic voters, civic organizations, and the ACLU of Kansas. Republicans in the Kansas House and Senate successfully overrode Democratic governor Laura Kelly's veto of the map on Feb. 9. Read the cases here. Rivera v. Schwab and Alonzo v. Schwab. The cases challenge the map on state constitutional partisan gerrymandering, minority vote dilution, and racial discrimination grounds. Both lawsuits focus on congressional lines in and around Wyandotte County, described in the complaint as…
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Minnesota Judicial Panel Releases State’s New Congressional and Legislative Maps for the Decade

Minnesota Judicial Panel Releases State’s New Congressional and Legislative Maps for the Decade

By EditorFeb 15, 2022
On Tuesday Feb. 15, a 5-member Minnesota Judicial Branch Special Redistricting Panel formed in 2021, adopted a congressional and state legislative district map. The court released its final orders for both the congressional and legislative map and explained the panel's approach to redrawing the maps. That approach was to make as few changes as possible to satisfy legal requirements since courts must perform redistricting in a restrained manner as opposed to legislatures who have more "political authority." The court further explained "We are not positioned to draw entirely new congressional districts, as the legislature could choose to do. Rather, we…
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Idaho Supreme Court Upholds New Congressional Map Against State Law Based Challenge

By EditorFeb 13, 2022
On Friday (Feb. 11) the Idaho Supreme Court rejected the only legal challenge filed against the state's new congressional map. Earlier, in January, the court rejected four challenges to the newly enacted state legislative map. This now clears the way for Idaho's May 17 primary election to proceed as scheduled. Read the unanimous opinion here. Read Media Coverage in the Idaho Capital Sun, and the Idaho Press. View the interactive congressional and state legislative maps here: Congressional / State Legislative Find us on:
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OH Supreme Court Rejects Ohio Commission Maps for a 2nd Time. Describes Their Efforts as “Misguided.”

By EditorFeb 07, 2022
The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday rejected a 2nd revised map of state Senate and House districts drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The first map was invalidated by the court on Jan 12. The latest maps, adopted by the commission on Jan. 22nd, still violate state constitutional provisions prohibiting maps that favor any one political party according to the court. The commission must adopt a 3rd plan and file it with the court by February 18, 2022. Read the order here. The court interprets the state constitution's proportionality standard to mean that any map should reflect the average voting…
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U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Alabama in Voting Rights Act Case Against its Congressional Map, Issues a Stay Order.

By EditorFeb 07, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced that it will allow Alabama to hold elections under its newly enacted congressional map despite a federal trial court's order to redraw the map to add a second majority Black district. Read the order here. In a 5-4 vote, the court granted Alabama's application for a stay from the trial court's decision invalidating the map under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The 4 Justices in the minority would have allowed the 2022 election to go forward in Alabama with a remedial map as the three-judge trial court had ordered. Justice…
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Redistricting Headlines Feb. 7 2022: Three State Supreme Courts Have Their Say. A Governor’s Veto Puts Map on Shaky Ground.

Redistricting Headlines Feb. 7 2022: Three State Supreme Courts Have Their Say. A Governor’s Veto Puts Map on Shaky Ground.

By EditorFeb 07, 2022
Last week was another busy week in redistricting. Three state supreme courts made rulings on newly adopted maps, one state enacted redistricting maps and another endured a gubernatorial veto. Notable Court Decisions and Filings North Carolina was easily the headliner last week after its State Supreme Court overturned a lower trial court decision upholding new congressional and state legislative maps against racial and partisan gerrymandering challenges. The court is giving the Republican-dominated legislature just 14 days to redraw all three maps (congressional, state Senate and state House). There is no guarantee that the legislature will make this deadline but either…
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North Carolina Supreme Court Rejects Legislature’s 2021 Redistricting Maps. Redraw Ordered.

By EditorFeb 06, 2022
On Friday, the North Carolina State Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that upheld the legislature's 2021 congressional and state legislative maps against both racial and partisan gerrymandering claims. The court ordered the General Assembly to submit remedial maps for review to the trial court on or before Feb. 18 at 5:00 p.m. The trial court must approve or adopt compliant congressional and state legislative districting plans no later than noon on Feb. 23 2022. Read the Order. The State Supreme Court accepted and agreed with the trial court's assessment that the maps were a partisan gerrymander. The difference…
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