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Redistricting Update: Week of January 14, 2024. News from MI, NY, ND, and WI.

By EditorJan 15, 2024

Redistricting developments in the states for the week of January 14, 2024. Click on the state button for more news and media. NationalBrennan Center analysis suggests 2030 redistricting could bring big increases for the South (Ohio Capital Journal) Michigan Michigan redistricting panel asks court for permission to use unconstitutional maps Michigan redistricting commission holds special meeting, decides against raising its salaries Special masters appointed to help redraw Detroit-area districts; these are the important dates Court lays out redistricting timeline for maps ruled unconstitutional New York New York Hispanic Voters File First Lawsuit Under State Voting Rights Act North Dakota Judge…

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Georgia Redistricting Update (Jan. 10, 2024)

By EditorJan 10, 2024

On October 26, 2023, a U.S. District Court ordered Georgia's legislative and congressional districts to be redrawn before the 2024 election. The legislature had passed those maps in 2021 following the 2020 census. The litigation includes three sets of plaintiffs and the court ultimately found that the legislature's maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Among other findings, the court noted convincing evidence that the political process in Georgia was not equally accessible to Black voters when compared to their White counterparts. This being the case, the prophylactic measures prescribed in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act were necessary…

Case Updates, HOME, LATEST, LAW, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights ActGeorgia, STATENEWS

Redistricting Update: Week of January 7, 2024. News from GA, KY, MI, NY, NC, and WI.

By EditorJan 08, 2024

Redistricting developments in the states for the week of January 7, 2024 . Click on the state button for more news and media. NationalRedistricting Decisions Will Reshape Legislative Maps in Wisconsin and Michigan (Democracy Docket) Georgia Georgia lawmakers send redrawn congressional map keeping 9-5 Republican edge to judge for approval Judge rules against civil rights groups in Georgia redistricting appeal Kentucky Kentucky redistricting is upheld Michigan Michigan Political Map Axed in ‘Seismic’ Blow to Commissions 3 Michigan redistricting commissioners resign, random selection to bean held in January Three new members selected for Michigan redistricting commission Michigan redistricting commission votes to…

HOME, LATEST, NEWS, RedistrictingGeorgia, Kentucky, Michigan, new york, North Carolina, weekly update, Wisconsin

Utah Supreme Court Requests Additional Briefing in Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge

By EditorJul 19, 2023

The Utah Supreme Court seemed to be grappling with the issue of the citizen's right to initiative versus the legislature's right to enact laws. After oral argument in a case alleging that the 2021 congressional district map was a partisan gerrymander, (see League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature) the question arose of whether the legislature had the right to repeal a statute with anti-gerrymandering provisions (Proposition 4) - which it did in 2020. In October of last year, the trial court dismissed the claims regarding the Utah Legislature’s repeal of Proposition 4 but allowed the League's…

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NY Court Orders Redistricting Commission to Draw a “Second” Congressional Map

By EditorJul 13, 2023

Today New York's Supreme Court, Appellate Division directed the state's Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to submit a second congressional map to comply with the NY State Constitution. This decision (with 2 of 5 judges on the panel dissenting) will likely be appealed to the state's highest court. A state court has already required the IRC to draw and submit a second state house map after its initial failure to agree on any state redistricting map in January of 2022. Read the court's opinion here. From the court opinion: "The IRC had an indisputable duty under the NY Constitution to submit…

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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Exclusive Power of State Legislatures to Draw Redistricting Maps in NC Case

By EditorJun 29, 2023

On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court held that state legislatures do not have exclusive and independent authority to set the rules regarding federal elections under the U.S. Constitution's Elections Clause. This idea had been dubbed the "independent state legislature theory." Practically speaking, this decision affirmed the North Carolina Supreme Court's authority to review the state legislature's congressional districting plans for compliance with the state constitution. You can read the opinion in Moore v. Harper here. Post Decision Analysis For a short history of the case and what it means for North Carolina and other states, listen to the CSPAN interview…

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U.S. Supreme Court Makes “Surprise” Decision Striking Alabama’s Congressional Map

By EditorJun 09, 2023

On Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Alabama District Court's preliminary injunction against the state's 2021 Congressional map on grounds that it diluted the votes of Black voters in the state in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The 5-4 decision ensures that Alabama's 7 district congressional map, which included only one with a majority of Black voters - will have to be redrawn to include an additional minority Black district. African Americans make up more than a quarter of the state’s population. The decision has implications for Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas as well. It is…

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Alaska State Supreme Court Set to Decide if Interim Legislative Map Will Remain in Effect for the Decade

By EditorApr 24, 2023

On Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court issued its opinion detailing its March 2022 ruling that Alaska's legislative (a.k.a. Proclamation) Map violated the state's equal protection clause due to partisan gerrymandering. The opinion is not a surprise since the court made this conclusion clear in a March 25 2022 order. What is newsworthy, is that the court asked the Alaska Redistricting Board to make a case for restarting the redistricting process over to establish a final map for the rest of the decade. After two failed attempts by the Redistricting Board to adopt a legislative map, a third map was used…

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Watch: NC Supreme Court Rehears Congressional Redistricting Map Case

By EditorMar 15, 2023

A reconstituted North Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that the court decided in February of 2022. The 2022 decision invalidated the legislature's congressional map and replaced it with a map drawn by a special master. Later in the year, the court gained a conservative majority following the 2022 mid-term elections, and in a move some call unprecedented, it agreed to rehear the case to consider whether it should overturn its previous decision - or at least allow the North Carolina legislature to enact a new congressional map. Watch the oral arguments at the link below.…

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U.S. Supreme Court Calls for 2nd Briefing in NC Map Case

By EditorMar 05, 2023

On March 2, parties to the Moore v. Harper case were directed by the U.S. Supreme Court to file supplemental letter briefs addressing the following question: What is the effect on this Court’s jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) and Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U. S. 469 (1975), of the North Carolina Supreme Court’s February 3, 2023 order granting rehearing, and any subsequent state court proceedings? The briefs are due Monday, March 20, 2023. This request is in response to a February 3, decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court - with a newly elected Republican majority…

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