State Supreme Court Redraws Pennsylvania Congressional Map

By EditorFeb 22, 2018

Pennsylvania - This January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the state's congressional map was an unconstitutional gerrymander. The plaintiffs had alleged the map is an eggregious partisan gerrymander executed by Republican state lawmakers that allowed Republicans to win 72% of the state's congressional delegation with just 50% of the vote. Here is the new map that court quickly adopted after the PA. state legislature failed to meet its deadline to agree and enact a replacement map. Read more at NBCnews, Washington Post, and New York Times.

NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, State Lawscongressional, featured, League of Women Voters of PA, PA State Supreme Court, partisan gerrymandering, Pennsylvania

Redistricting Weekly Update : Atlases and Mathematicians in the Fray

By EditorJan 29, 2018

The FiveThirtyEight Blog Releases the Atlas of Redistricting, The Maps are Impressive but Unusable FiveThirtyEight takes a comprehensive look at the mapping possibilities for every congressional district in the nation. None of the maps would pass legal muster though. At best, the Atlas of Redistricting is a rough thought experiment that can give us a good idea of what different redistricting priorities produce on a map - - just in very very broad brushstrokes. read more. Pennsylvania Republicans appeal congressional map partisan gerrymander decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a long-shot bid, Republicans appeal the state supreme court's decision…

Redistricting, Redistricting GerrymandersAtlas of Redistricting, fivethirtyeight, maps, Metric geometry and gerrymandering group, Moon Duchin, North Carolina, northcarolina, partisan gerrymandering, Pennsylvania, Supreme Court

The FiveThirtyEight Blog Releases the Atlas of Redistricting. The Maps are Impressive but Unusable

By EditorJan 28, 2018

This week, the sports and politics polling blog FiveThirtyEight released its Atlas of Redistricting. It takes a comprehensive look at the mapping possibilities for every congressional district in the nation, and is part of the site’s Gerrymandering Project, which seeks to uncover in their words, “[what] is greatly misunderstood . . .” about redistricting and whether “gerrymandering can (or should be) killed.” The maps are impressive. They produce congressional maps for seven common, but vastly different redistricting goals. The result is that you get to see what your (or any) state’s congressional map would like if it were drawn…

Equal Protection, FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting GerrymandersAtlas of Redistricting, congress, congressional, featured, fivethirtyeight, gerrymandering, legal, maps, partisan gerrymandering

Highlights from State Supreme Court Oral Argument in Pennsylvania Congressional Map Challenge

By EditorJan 18, 2018

Pennsylvania - On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments in one of the challenges to the state's 2011 congressional map. The case, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania (LWV) v. Pennsylvania General Assembly, alleges the map is an eggregious partisan gerrymander executed by Republican state lawmakers that allowed Republicans to win 72% of the state's congressional delegation with just 50% of the vote. Here are the highlights from the oral arument, which lasted just over 2 hours: (more…)

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, State Lawscongressional, League of Women Voters of PA, oral argument, PA State Supreme Court, partisan gerrymandering, Pennsylvania

An Update on the Partisan Gerrymander Case Everyone is Talking About

By EditorJan 16, 2018

Wisconsin - It's the case that all the legal and social science geeks have been eyeing for months now. It offers maybe the best chance for the Supreme Court to finally find a partisan gerrymander that goes too far, something it has considered over the years, but has never done. This would be a first. (more…)

Redistricting, Redistricting Litigationefficiency gap, oral argument, partisan gerrymandering, Supreme Court, Whitford v Gill, Wisconsin

Watch: UW Professor Reviews Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in Detail

By EditorJan 14, 2018

This challenge to Wisconsin's state legislative district map alleges the Wisconsin state assembly drew politically gerrymandered districts to entrench Republican power in 2011. Plaintiffs claim the gerrymander was so egregious, it violated the first and 14th amendments. A federal district court panel invalidated the map on those grounds in 2016. Video: UW Professor David Canon gives a detailed overview (40mins) of the case last Fall just before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyLQBn-C8MM

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigationoral argument, partisan gerrymandering, scotus, Supreme Court, Whitford v Gill, Wisconsin

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in One Infographic

By EditorJan 14, 2018

If you have been meaning to do a Google search and read up on the partisan gerrymandering case over Wisconsin's state legislative district map, but you don't have the 3 hours you will need to bone up on just what "partisan gerrymandering" is and why it might be illegal, here is the infographic for you. You will be up to snuff before lunch is done. Courtesy of the Brown Political Review:

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigationfeatured, infographic, partisan gerrymandering, Whitford v Gill, Wisconsin

Federal Court: North Carolina Congressional Districts Illegal Partisan Gerrymander

By EditorJan 14, 2018

North Carolina - On January 9th, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled that the state's 2016 Plan violates the Equal Protection Clause, the First Amendment, and Article I of the Constitution. Survey the news coverage. (more…)

Redistrictingcongressional, featured, lpequalpro, North Carolina, northcarolina, partisan gerrymandering

Michigan Launches Anti-Gerrymandering Campaign on Four Fronts

By EditorApr 20, 2017

Michigan - The Voters Not Politicians Ballot Committee is looking to end partisan gerrymandering in the state for good. The group, including Wayne State University political science professor Kevin Deegan-Krause, will be heading up a good government initiative to end gerrymandering using (1) a ballot initiative; (2) legislation introduced in the state legislature; (3) a lawsuit claiming partisan gerrymandering that is patterned after the pending Wisconsin lawsuit; and (4) a partnership with the Democratic party's newly formed initiative to counter ongoing Republican electoral dominance via redistricting. Read more here.

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, REFORMfeatured, Michigan, partisan gerrymandering, reform

Redistrictingonline Monthly Redistricting Update (March 2017)

By EditorApr 04, 2017

Politics Roll Call interviews National Democratic Redistricting Committee Executive Director Kelly Ward about its strategy going into 2020: Watch: Inside the Democrat Party’s National Redistricting Strategy In-Depth Late in 2016, PBS’s American Law Journal gave an in-depth treatment of gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. Hosts interview lawmakers, review the technology behind redistricting and cover reform efforts: Watch: PBS Covers Pennsylvania Gerrymandering and Reform In-Depth Litigation Six years in the making, a federal district court panel released its opinion late last month in the long arduous litigation we call Texas Redistricting. We explain what that means and survey the news coverage in Texas Congressional Districts Invalidated by…

RedistrictingArizona, Florida, reform, Texas, texas redistricting, Virginia