Is Major Redistricting Reform From Congress On the Way? A Look at H.R. 1

Is Major Redistricting Reform From Congress On the Way? A Look at H.R. 1

By Michelle DavisFeb 17, 2021
Congress has made redistricting reform in 2021 a top priority. To that end H.R.1 (S.1) was introduced in the current congress and is poised to establish major election reforms should it pass. Nested within H.R. 1 is “subtitle E”, or the “Redistricting Reform Act of 2021.”  The Brennan Center for Justice explains that the purpose of the Act is to combat racial injustice and partisan influence in the redrawing of congressional districts.  Regardless of one’s policy position on the Act, all can agree that the legislation is a dramatic change from the redistricting status quo. Despite this fact, not many…
FEATURES, LATEST, Official Redistricting Entities, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Gerrymanders, REFORM, , , , , ,
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Second State Invalidates Redistricting Map Based on Common State Constitutional Provision

Second State Invalidates Redistricting Map Based on Common State Constitutional Provision

By Michelle DavisSep 05, 2019
September 5, 2019 “the Free Elections Clause of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees that all elections must be conducted freely and honestly to ascertain, fairly and truthfully, the will of the People and that this is a fundamental right of North Carolina citizens, a compelling governmental interest, and a cornerstone of our democratic form of government.” These are the words of the three-judge panel in North Carolina's state trial court. Following Pennsylvania's lead in League of Women Voters of Pa. v. Pennsylvania, which invalidated that state's congressional map - The North Carolina court gave legislative leaders until September 17th to…
FEATURES, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Gerrymanders, State Laws, Uncategorized, , , , ,
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The Supreme Court’s Less Than Graceful Exit from the Thicket

The Supreme Court’s Less Than Graceful Exit from the Thicket

By Michelle DavisJun 27, 2019
The long-awaited partisan gerrymandering decision has come down from the nation's highest court. A 5-4 majority decided to exit the "political thicket" and leave the policing of political gerrymandered redistricting maps to the States, commissions, congress; anybody, except the nine of them. Below are brief excerpts (with explanation) from the both the majority opinion and a passionate dissent from Justice Kagan in the consolidated cases of Lamone v. Benisek, ET Al. (Maryland) and Rucho v. Common Cause, ET Al. (North Carolina). Read the entire case here. The Court: Partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal…
LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , , , , , ,
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By Michelle DavisApr 25, 2019
On March 26, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Benesik v. Lamone, a partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland. Click here for background on this case and its companion case, Rucho v. Common Cause (North Carolina). For a pre oral symposium hosted by SCOTUSBlog, click here. Click here to listen to oral argument for Rucho v. Common Cause.
NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, VIDEO, , , , , , , , , ,
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SCOTUSblog Symposium in Anticipation of Oral Arguments in Partisan Gerrymandering Cases

SCOTUSblog Symposium in Anticipation of Oral Arguments in Partisan Gerrymandering Cases

By Michelle DavisFeb 25, 2019
. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in two key partisan gerrymandering cases on March 26; one from Maryland (Benesik v. Lamone) and one from North Carolina (Rucho v. Common Cause). In preparation for these arguments, the editors at SCOTUSblog hosted this pre-argument symposium featuring a group of experts on redistricting law. Here is a quick summary of each contributor's essay. You can click to read each article in full. . Justin Levitt: Suggests that the unconstitutionality of excessive partisan gerrymandering follows from the fact that there is widespread agreement (in the legal community) that any State law that…
FEATURES, LAW, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , ,
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Watch: A Mathematical Measurement of Partisan Gerrymandering

Watch: A Mathematical Measurement of Partisan Gerrymandering

By Michelle DavisFeb 05, 2019
. Researchers at Duke University do a good job explaining their quantitative analysis of North Carolina’s congressional redistricting maps in lay terms. In this video they present fairly solid statistical proof that partisan gerrymandering indeed can be sniffed out by statistical algorithms that show when a map is the result of intentional and precise human design, and not mere adjustment of the boundaries that are already there. Of course, this only proves that partisan gerrymandering exists, and it is a helpful measure of the stark differences in the election results between a map drawn with precise political motivations versus on…
DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, VIDEO, ,
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MD and NC Partisan Gerrymandering Cases Return to the U.S. Supreme Court

MD and NC Partisan Gerrymandering Cases Return to the U.S. Supreme Court

By Michelle DavisJan 08, 2019
On January 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court took up two long-standing partisan gerrymandering challenges on appeal from two federal district courts; one in Maryland and the other in North Carolina.  The question in both of these cases was not whether there was partisan gerrymandering in the making of these maps. Instead it was whether this type of partisan gerrymandering is constitutional or not.  The high court has seemed to duck and weave whenever it has been presented with this question in the past, but this time it feels different. Below is a little background to provide some context for the…
LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,
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Maryland’s Sixth District Ruled a Partisan Gerrymander by Federal District Court

Maryland’s Sixth District Ruled a Partisan Gerrymander by Federal District Court

By Michelle DavisNov 14, 2018
On November 7th, after managing a protracted series of procedural issues involving a lawsuit that was initially filed in 2013, a federal district court panel invalidated Maryland's 6th congressional district on grounds that it was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.  Maryland has until early March 2019 to enact a new congressional map or the court will create its own commission to do so. This case is notable since the court overturned the map on 1st amendment grounds instead of the 14th amendment, which until recently had been the basis for most if not all partisan gerrymandering challenges. (more…)
LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,
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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pennsylvania Republican’s Congressional Map Appeal

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pennsylvania Republican’s Congressional Map Appeal

By Michelle DavisNov 01, 2018
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Republican lawmakers in the Pennsylvania legislature after a January ruling by the Pa. State Supreme Court invalidating the congressional map enacted by the body in 2011.  (more…)
LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, State Laws, , , , , , ,
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Leading Expert in Redistricting “Grofman,” Suggests a Path to Proving Partisan Gerrymandering

By EditorJul 09, 2018
Bernard Grofman, author, professor at the University of California at Irvine, and an expert witness in a multitude of redistricting cases, published this article in the Washington Post today.  In it Grofman offers a way for courts to assess the level of partisan gerrymandering on a district-by-district basis when the challenge is based on the 14th amendment.  His assessment is timely, given the Supreme Court's recent decision in Gill v. Whitford, which rejected challenges to a map as a whole.  See our discussion of that here.  Grofman points to the court's line of racial gerrymandering cases as a guide and…
Equal Protection, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, ,
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