Chief Justice Roberts Requests Response in NC Racial Gerrymandering Case

Chief Justice Roberts Requests Response in NC Racial Gerrymandering Case

By EditorJan 08, 2017
North Carolina - A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled that 28 state legislative districts in North Carolina's 2010 redistricting map were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders that diluted the votes of black and Hispanic voters.  The state has appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the lower federal court has already given an order to the North Carolina legislature to start on and finalize a new map for special state elections later in 2017. The Republican-dominated legislature would rather wait and see what the Supreme Court has to say, especially since a newly elected Democratic governor is waiting in the wings.  This…
NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, 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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Duke University Team Dabbles with Its Own Algorithm for Measuring Partisan Gerrymandering

Duke University Team Dabbles with Its Own Algorithm for Measuring Partisan Gerrymandering

By EditorDec 06, 2016
North Carolina - It isn't Efficiency Gap Analysis, but a team of mathematicians at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy have applied its own model (Markov Chain Monte Carlo method) to measuring the extent of partisan gerrymanders.  The algorithm produces maps with districts that have proven to be comparably more competitive than the actual districts established by states.  This does not appear to be anything new however, since computer modeled redistricting has been around for quite sometime.  The groups methodology explanation does not indicate how its model is superior to other algorithms. Read the article in GovTech.com. The group…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, , , ,
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NPR Talks with Law Profs About Racial Gerrymandering in the Supreme Court

NPR Talks with Law Profs About Racial Gerrymandering in the Supreme Court

By EditorDec 06, 2016
Wash. DC - NPR's Nina Totenberg discusses the North Carolina racial gerrymandering claim to be heard today before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Totenberg chats with Stanford law professor Nathaniel Persily and Richard Hasen of University of California Irvine about the two congressional districts in dispute and how the court has dealt with similar claims in the past. Click below.      
Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, , , , , , ,
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Packing Minorities Into Districts. When Is That Ever Okay?

Packing Minorities Into Districts. When Is That Ever Okay?

By EditorDec 05, 2016
Washington DC - The Supreme Court will tackle that question today as it hears oral arguments in two redistricting cases.  Both cases are alleged racial gerrymander claims; one orginating from Virginia's state legislative map and the other from North Carolina's congressional district map.  (more…)
Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights Act, , , , , , , , , ,
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Federal District Court Finds Partisan Gerrymander in Wisconsin Assembly Map

Federal District Court Finds Partisan Gerrymander in Wisconsin Assembly Map

By EditorNov 21, 2016
Wisconsin -  A three-judge federal district court in Wisconsin has invalidated the Republican-drawn state assembly district map enacted in August 2011 as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.  If the ruling stands - and that's a very big "IF," this case will be the first successful approach to creating a workable standard for courts to use in determining whether a partisan gerrymander rises to the level of impermissible gerrymandering under the first amendment and equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.  Read more in the New York Times ,  Salon.com, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Rick Hasen's Electionlawblog.        Read the District Court…
First Amendment, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, , ,
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Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

By EditorAug 16, 2016
North Carolina - Last Thursday, a three-judge U.S. District Court panel ruled that 28 of the Republican-drawn districts for the N.C. legislature were indeed unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. The Republican practice of making "safe" minority districts even "safer" to comply with the Voting Rights Act was completely disavowed by the court.  In short, the Voting Rights Act does not mandate districts in which minorities are already successful at electing their preferred candidates, to be packed with even more minority voters - something that North Carolina insisted was the case. The districts will stand for the 2016 election however.  The court has ordered a…
Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, , , ,
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Judicial Watch to Defend Voters Challenging Constitutionality of Maryland’s Congressional Redistricting Maps

Judicial Watch to Defend Voters Challenging Constitutionality of Maryland’s Congressional Redistricting Maps

By EditorJul 12, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC--( July 08, 2016) - A special, three-judge panel will consider a constitutional challenge to Maryland's gerrymandered congressional district map on Tuesday, July 12. Judicial Watch Attorney Robert Popper will appear before the panel on behalf of voters from each of Maryland's eight congressional districts. The plaintiffs challenging Maryland's congressional district plan include Maryland Delegates Neil C. Parrott and Matt Morgan, and former Maryland legislator and gubernatorial candidate Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey. Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit on June 24, 2015, in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against Maryland's state administrator of elections and the…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, ,
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