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

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

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

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

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

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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NY Court Gives Redistricting Commission “2nd Bite of the Apple” for Legislative Map

NY Court Gives Redistricting Commission “2nd Bite of the Apple” for Legislative Map

By EditorOct 08, 2022
Citing a flawed redistricting process, the Supreme Court of the State of New York ordered the state's Independent Redistricting Commission to try again to draw new legislative districts for the state assembly. The decision comes after the commission's failure to agree on redistricting maps earlier in the year, and a long protracted legal battle that resulted in the state's highest court invalidating the congressional, senate, and assembly maps. Read the order here. While the congressional and senate maps were redrawn by a court-appointed special master for the 2022 elections, the legislative map will not be needed until 2024. The commission…
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U.S. District Court Dismisses 2nd Lawsuit Calling for New House Elections

By EditorAug 23, 2022
A U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va has rejected a lawsuit aimed at dissolving Virginia's 2021 House of Delegates election. Plaintiffs in the case had urged the court to order a new election due to the delay in census data caused by the Covid-19 health crisis. The 2021 election was conducted using legislative district maps drawn after the 2010 census because updated census data from 2020 was not available to redraw maps in enough time for the scheduled statewide election. The plaintiffs sued the state election board on the basis that conducting the election using the old maps - based…
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Court: New York Will Have Congressional and Senate Maps by May 20.

Court: New York Will Have Congressional and Senate Maps by May 20.

By EditorApr 29, 2022
The litigation surrounding New York's congressional and senate maps will end by May 20, according to the Stueben County appellate court. The court's announcement comes after the state's highest court invalidated both maps on Wednesday (April 27th). Here is a recap of the litigation which began in February. The litigation surrounding these two maps began in mid-February and sped through all three levels of the state court system (trial court, appellate court, and the state's highest court) in just over 2 months. While there was some disagreement among courts regarding whether the maps enacted by the legislature were the product…
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New York Redistricting Maps Thrown Out by State Trial Court. Congressional Map Declared Partisan Gerrymander

New York Redistricting Maps Thrown Out by State Trial Court. Congressional Map Declared Partisan Gerrymander

By EditorApr 01, 2022
On Thursday, Mar. 31, a New York trial court invalidated the legislature's 2022 congressional and state legislative maps. The decision was primarily grounded in the procedural requirements of New York's state constitution, which the court said the legislature violated when it adopted maps of its own after the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) failed to produce a second set of maps. Read the opinion. According to the court, the constitutional provision creating the IRC allowed the legislature to draw maps only after the IRC submits 2 sets of maps and the legislature rejects them. The IRC deadlocked in Jan of 2022…
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Maryland State Court Throws Out 2021 Congressional Map Citing Extreme Gerrymandering

By EditorMar 27, 2022
On Friday, the Senior Judge of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County signed an order prohibiting use of the congressional map that the Maryland legislature approved - over a gubernatorial veto - during a special session in December 2021. State officials were given five days to redraw the map. The legislature is currently in session until April 11. There is no word on whether the state will appeal. Read the order and opinion. The ruling concerned consolidated cases against the map by several plaintiffs and is notable as it makes Maryland among the first few states to fall victim…
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