Utah Court Throws Out Congressional Map, Orders Redraw

By EditorAug 26, 2025

Utah’s redistricting fight reached a turning point on Monday, when Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that lawmakers unconstitutionally repealed the voter‑approved Proposition 4 and ordered the Legislature to enact a remedial congressional map for the 2026 cycle. Proposition 4 passed narrowly by voters in 2018 and was branded “Better Boundaries.” Prop 4 created a seven-member independent redistricting commission and required maps to meet neutral criteria, including equal population, compactness/contiguity, maintaining cities and counties together, respecting communities of interest, and forbidding the drawing of districts to favor or disfavor a party or incumbent unduly. The Legislature could enact or…

Case Updates, State Laws, Utahcaseupdates, Latest, policyindepth, redistricting commissions, Utah

Walking the Tightrope: How Courts Balance Minority Vote Dilution Rules and Racial Gerrymandering Limits

By EditorAug 25, 2025

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act versus the 14th Amendment Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) prohibits any redistricting plan that dilutes the voting power of minorities. Since Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), plaintiffs preliminarily meet that standard by proving three conditions: the minority group must be large and compact enough to form a district, it must vote cohesively, and the white majority must usually defeat the minority’s candidate of choice. When those “Gingles preconditions” are satisfied, federal courts often order the state to draw an additional majority-minority district. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, however, takes a…

Racial Gerrymandering, Voting Rights Actlawindepth, News, Voting Rights Act

Missouri, New York, and Louisiana Consider Taking Early Steps Toward Possible Mid-Cycle Map Redraws

By EditorAug 22, 2025

All three states are laying procedural groundwork but face distinct hurdles: executive hesitation and intra-party risk in Missouri, constitutional lead times in New York, and judicial uncertainty in Louisiana. Missouri: Gov. Mike Kehoe is “assessing options” for a special session after former President Donald Trump urged a 7-1 GOP map. No draft lines have been released, but Republican leaders say any plan would likely split Kansas City’s 5th District to unseat Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. New York: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie confirms leaders are “having discussions” after Gov. Kathy Hochul floated a Texas-style response, yet notes any mid-decade map would require…

Strategy and Politicslouisiana, mid-decade redistricting, Missouri, new york, policyindepth

California High Court Rejects GOP Bid to Halt Mid-Decade Redistricting Measure

By EditorAug 20, 2025

The California Supreme Court has dismissed a Republican petition that sought to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to place a mid-decade congressional redraw on the November ballot, saying that "petitioners [GOP lawmakers] have failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under California Constitution article IV, section 8." The unsigned order, issued Aug. 20, leaves in place Democrats’ “gut-and-amend” legislation that would temporarily suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission and let voters decide whether to adopt new maps projected to add up to five Democratic seats, an answer to Texas Republicans’ July remap. The…

California, Strategy and PoliticsCalifornia, lawindepth, mid-decade redistricting, STATENEWS

Charting New Boundaries: Key 2025 Redistricting Developments Across California

By EditorAug 14, 2025

Statewide Spotlight: Newsom Weighs a Counter-map Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed on July 25, 2025, that he is “exploring multiple options” to redraw California’s congressional districts in response to Texas’s mid-cycle GOP remap. Any plan would have to work around the state’s voter-approved Citizens Redistricting Commission, which the governor acknowledged is “a major obstacle” unless voters first amend the constitution in a special election. Central-Valley Litigation and Legislation Stanislaus County: MALDEF filed suit on April 23, 2025, alleging the county’s 2021 supervisor and school-board maps dilute Latino voting power in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Merced County:…

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Census Bureau Dissolves Three Outside Advisory Panels for 2030 Planning and Redistricting

By EditorAug 14, 2025

The U.S. Census Bureau disbanded three advisory committees this past June: the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC), the 2030 Census Advisory Committee, and the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. Members of these committees serve without pay (aside from travel reimbursement), a point reflected in CSAC’s charter and Federal Register notices. The 2030 advisory committee itself was created and filled less than a year earlier (23 members named in March 2024), underscoring how abruptly the change arrived. These panels review census design choices, methods, and communications plans during the decennial’s multi-year build-out. Census.gov’s pages describe the committees’…

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Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

By EditorAug 11, 2025

Gov. Greg Abbott put mid-decade redistricting on the agenda after Trump suggested a redraw and after a Trump-aligned DOJ letter questioned the legality of four existing districts. Texas’s special session, which convened on July 21 in part to redraw the congressional map, set off a chain reaction among states looking to counter what some say is an "unusual move," although not unprecedented. On July 30, House Republicans released a draft map that could flip the state’s delegation from 25-13 to roughly 30-8 in the GOP’s favor. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny their Republican counterparts a quorum, and…

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New York’s Complicated Redistricting Rules: NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update (July 28, 2025)

By EditorAug 09, 2025

This New York redistricting update is excerpted from citylandnyc.org with permission from the New York Law School. New York’s Complicated Redistricting Rules Following the national attention on the politically-driven re-redistricting taking place in Texas and the legally required remapping in Ohio, New York is often mentioned as one state where the Democrats can redraw the congressional map. Here are a few state rules and facts to consider: According to the state constitution, a redistricting map shall remain in force until the effective date of the next enacted map based upon the subsequent federal decennial census unless modified pursuant to a…

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A Brief History of Mid-Decade Redistricting in Texas

By EditorAug 06, 2025

A Brief History of Mid-Decade Redistricting in Texas Texas’s current mid-decade congressional redistricting effort has historical precedent. In 2003, Texas legislators undertook a similar mid-cycle redistricting that reshaped the state’s political landscape. Republicans, who had won control of both legislative chambers in the 2002 elections, launched an effort to replace the court-drawn congressional map from 2001. The legislature’s 2003 map significantly shifted the partisan composition of the Texas delegation, ultimately leading to a net gain of several Republican seats in Congress. The 2003 process drew national attention when Democratic legislators dramatically fled the state in protest, attempting to deny the…

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U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Fresh Briefs on Louisiana Map, Weighing the Voting Rights Act Against Equal-Protection Limits

By EditorAug 04, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order on Aug. 1 asking for supplemental briefs in Louisiana v. Callais, a case that claims Louisiana’s new six-district congressional map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Louisiana and a coalition of Black voters who support the 2024 map must file by Aug. 27; the “non-African American” voters challenging the plan have until Sept. 17, with replies due Oct. 3. The justices already heard oral argument in March but held off any decision in the case, signaling they wanted additional input before deciding whether the second majority-Black district created last year should stand. The…

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