Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

By EditorMar 20, 2017
Georgia - Traditionally reserved for the beginning of the decade, redistricting is on the table again in Georgia as a proposal for new House districts has cleared that chamber and is being considered in the Georgia senate.  As a practical matter, redistricting usually only happens once in a decade.  Although, in most states there is no law that would limit it to that, the task is such a delicate, complex and highly controversial one that most do not dare to go through it any more than they have to. Georgia's republican controlled legislature has got the attention of former attorney general Eric Holder,…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Strategy and Politics, , , , , ,
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Court Sides with Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission

Court Sides with Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission

By EditorMar 19, 2017
Maricopa County, Arizona - A Superior Court judge has rejected the remaining challenges against the work of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.  Plaintiffs had challenged the commission's process and accused the commission of violating state open meeting laws.  The Supreme Court ruled in the commission's favor in June of 2015.  There is no word yet on an appeal.
Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, , ,
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A Redistricting Dilemma for a Florida School Board

A Redistricting Dilemma for a Florida School Board

By EditorMar 19, 2017
Lee County, Florida - The Lee County school board is debating whether redistricting is needed to elect a minority to its school board, which represents a county that is 55% minority.  A recent Supreme Court case, politics, and general confusion about redistricting has delayed any action so far.  This editorial in the News-Press gives a detailed discussion of the problem and the boards ongoing struggle with minority representation issues.
Local Redistricting, , , ,
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Texas Attorney General’s Statement on Redistricting Court Ruling

By EditorMar 17, 2017
Texas - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released this statement on Monday regarding a federal district court panel's 2-1 ruling that finds several congressional districts drawn by the Texas legislature to be unconstitutional.  Click here for more analysis of the case: “We respectfully disagree with the redistricting panel’s majority decision.  As Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith observed in his dissent, the challenge to the old 2011 maps - which were never in effect - is moot.  The maps currently in use are not the ones adopted by the Texas Legislature in 2011, which are the subject of the court’s opinion. …
Redistricting,
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What’s Next in Texas Redistricting

What’s Next in Texas Redistricting

By EditorMar 17, 2017
On March 10th a federal district court panel in San Antonio Texas ruled that the State legislature’s 2011 congressional redistricting map was drawn in manner that violated the U.S. constitution.  The court found several districts in the map were the product of intentional racial discrimination and minority vote dilution.  While the ruling was a surprise, considering the case had been drawn out for nearly six years, it was also slightly anti-climactic since the ruling referred to a map that Texas no longer uses as its congressional districts.  The court had drawn an interim map in 2012 after finding that some…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , , , , , ,
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Texas Congressional Districts Invalidated by Federal Court: News Coverage

Texas Congressional Districts Invalidated by Federal Court: News Coverage

By EditorMar 16, 2017
Texas - Six years in the making, the federal district court panel released its opinion late last week in the long arduous litigation we call Texas Redistricting.  This 2-1 decision is only the beginning since it is in regard to the state legislature's 2011 map, which has since been replaced.  The court has yet to consider the 2013 map, which is in place currently, and the state legislative map for the lower house. What is the importance of this decision on a now defunct map? The court could require Texas to return to the preclearance regime, which was overturned in…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , ,
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Maryland Judge Orders Legislative Leaders to Testify in Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Maryland Judge Orders Legislative Leaders to Testify in Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By EditorFeb 02, 2017
Maryland - Nearly four years after Bethesda, Md. resident Stephen M. Shapiro and other Maryland voters filed a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit against Maryland's congressional district map, a judge has ordered the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates and the President of the Maryland Senate to testify in the case and turn over documents, rejecting claims of legislative privilege. Shapiro's case has wound its way through the courts from its initial filing in 2013, you can read the original complaint here.   A district court judge dismissed the case but Shapiro won his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , , , ,
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