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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The Efficiency Gap Visualized Through the Decades

The Efficiency Gap Visualized Through the Decades

By EditorJan 18, 2017
The hottest thing in redistricting - if there is such a thing - is undoubtedly the emergence of "Efficiency Gap" analysis, and whether this measurement of how gerrymandered a map is, will receive the imprimatur of the U.S. Supreme Court.  While we wait, The Campaign Legal Center has released this report looking back through the decades to measure the efficiency gap in state legislative and congressional maps.  Their point is that partisan gerrymandering has never been more rampant and excessive than right now, but the charts show other interesting patterns as well.  Read the Report here.
Equal Protection, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
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Texas Three-Judge Court Cites “Voluminous” Record as Reason Why it Will Take Its Sweet Time on Texas Redistricting

Texas Three-Judge Court Cites “Voluminous” Record as Reason Why it Will Take Its Sweet Time on Texas Redistricting

By EditorJan 08, 2017
San Antonio, Texas - Its the biggest, most watched redistricting litigation of the decade; but the Texas redistricting case(s) began in 2011 and no ruling has been forthcoming by the federal district court panel tasked to resolve it.  Plaintiff's recently filed a request for the court to make a final decision and the court responded this week with an epic list of just how in the weeds they are with the paperwork.  The judges wrote: "The Court continues to diligently work through this voluminous record and the complex legal questions presented in this case and will issue an opinion as…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules,
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Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

By EditorJan 08, 2017
Pasadena, Texas - The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in this ruling invalidated the city's move from an eight-member district redistricting map to a mixed map of six single member districts and two at-large seats for electing its city council.  The court's finding of minority vote dilution (of Hispanic voters) under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act includes an order to subject the city to preclearance requirements, which would mean election officials must clear any future redistricting changes to the Justice Department for approval.  Read the initial case filing by plaintiffs here. There were several…
Local Redistricting, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights Act, , , , ,
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Meet The Democrat’s Secret Redistricting Weapon in 2020

Meet The Democrat’s Secret Redistricting Weapon in 2020

By EditorJan 05, 2017
Watch MSNBC interview Kelly Ward, former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee about her new role as the Democrat party's answer to the wildly successful national Republican redistricting strategy.   Ward is interim executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, - a project of President Obama and former Attorney General, Eric Holder - which will be gearing up for the next redistricting battle in 2020. Her interview begins around the 4:00 min mark.  
Redistricting, Strategy and Politics
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Cumulative Voting for School Board Ordered By Federal Court in Missouri

Cumulative Voting for School Board Ordered By Federal Court in Missouri

By EditorDec 07, 2016
Missouri - Late last month a federal district court ended a two year challenge to the Ferguson-Florissant School District's use of at-large elections for its seven member school board.  The court ruled in August, that at-large elections for board members did violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  The court's order requires the school district to use a cumulative voting system with staggered terms and off-cycle elections, preceded by a voter education program, much like the one described in the cumulative voting educational video below. https://youtu.be/L-n_D16bchM  
Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, , , , , ,
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NPR and Scotusblog Recap Oral Arguments in Racial Gerrymandering Case

NPR and Scotusblog Recap Oral Arguments in Racial Gerrymandering Case

By EditorDec 06, 2016
Wash. DC - NPR's Nina Totenberg recaps Supreme Court oral arguments in , Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections and McCrory v. Harris;  the racial gerrymandering claims arising from the Virginia state legislative and the North Carolina congressional map, which were heard on Monday.  Click below for audio. Read Scotusblog's analysis here.    
NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , , , , , , ,
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