Ohio Redistricting Maps Attract 3 Partisan Gerrymandering Lawsuits in 4 Days. Read Them Here.

By EditorSep 29, 2021
The recently passed Ohio State redistricting maps have so far drawn three lawsuits; each of them claiming the map is a brazen partisan gerrymander. Here is a look at all three complaints. The first lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and the Ohio chapter of the African American trade union group the A. Philip Randolph Institute, as well as a group of individual Ohio voters. Read the complaint here. The second lawsuit filed is backed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's National Redistricting Action Fund, the 501(c)4 of the…
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Ohio Redistricting Commission Maps Challenged in State Supreme Court as “Brazen” Partisan Gerrymander

By EditorSep 24, 2021
On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and the Ohio chapter of the African American trade union group the A. Philip Randolph Institute, as well as a group of individual Ohio voters, challenging the state house and senate maps adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission last week. The commission adopted the maps on a 5-2 party-line vote with Republican members voting in favor of the map. The lawsuit alleges the map is a clear partisan gerrymander that violates provisions of the state constitution requiring that districts not be…
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VA Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Prisoner Reallocation Law

By EditorSep 23, 2021
The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected a legal challenge to a state law that changes how prison inmates are counted for purposes of redistricting. The petition for a writ of mandamus from the court had alleged that the Virginia legislature acted outside of the "prescribed constitutional amendment process" when it enacted statutory criteria regarding the reallocation of prisoners. It argued that while the commission along with other redistricting criteria was created through referendum and constitutional amendments, the prisoner reallocation statute was not and thus violates the state constitution. The petition had asked the state supreme court to prohibit the commission…
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Wisconsin Lawsuit is Third Court Challenge Anticipating a Political “Impasse” for Redistricting Maps

By EditorAug 14, 2021
Wisconsin voters join voters in Pennsylvania and Minnesota by initiating litigation in anticipation of a political impasse between the legislative and executive branches in the map-redrawing process. A group of voters filed suit on Friday - less than one day after 2020 census numbers were released to kick off the nationwide redistricting process. Claiming that there is "no reasonable prospect that Wisconsin's political branches will reach consensus to enact district plans in a timely manner," the plaintiffs are asking a federal district court to intervene to establish redrawn congressional and state legislative districts. The complaint points out that "In the…
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Parties Debate Timeliness of Lawsuit in PA Congressional Map Challenge

By EditorAug 08, 2021
A group of voters in Pennsylvania started the 2020 litigation cycle early by suing in Pennsylvania state court over the state's congressional map. The lawsuit presumes that the state legislature will not have enough time to enact a congressional map given its history of gridlock and a severely shortened mapmaking schedule due to late census redistricting data. It is asking the court to take jurisdiction now to avoid delays in redrawing congressional districts. The case is Carter v. Degraffenreid. Read the complaint here. The lawsuit was filed in April of 2021. This is an update on the status of the…
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Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Laws Against Sec. 2 Voting Rights Challenge in Brnovich

By EditorJul 01, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion today overturning a lower court's decision striking down two Arizona voting laws under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The two laws the court upheld restricted out-of precinct voting and certain ballot collection activities in Arizona. Many experts view this as a severe weakening of the Voting Rights Act's protections for minority voters. The Court did seem to distinguish its interpretation of Section 2 in this case, from how it is applied in minority vote dilution redistricting map cases. Read the opinion here. The two voting laws at issue require…
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Federal Court Rejects Alabama’s Census Lawsuit

By EditorJun 29, 2021
An Alabama federal district court has rejected the State of Alabama's lawsuit requesting that the U.S. Census Bureau refrain from using the differential privacy method to modify individual census responses and move up the release of census data. Read the opinion here. The case in all likelihood will be appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court writes: "On March 10, 2021, the State of Alabama, Congressman Robert Aderholt, and two Alabama voters (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this suit against the U.S. Department of Commerce (“the Department”), the U.S. Bureau of the Census (“the Bureau”), and certain federal officials (collectively,…
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MALDEF Challenges Democratic Drawn Illinois State Legislative Map Citing Legislature’s Use of Census Survey Data

By EditorJun 13, 2021
The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund has sued in federal court after the Illinois legislature passed and the governor enacted a state legislative district map drawn using 5 yr census survey data (ACS) in place of the actual population count from the 2020 census. Read the complaint here. The complaint contends that the General Assembly has yet to release the alleged populations of the individual representative and legislative districts in the enacted map. The map was drawn by the legislature using ACS data due to the late release of the traditional population data used for redistricting, which is not anticipated…
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Illinois Minority Leaders Challenge State Legislative Map Drawn with Census Survey Data

By EditorJun 13, 2021
On June 4, Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a state legislative district map drawn and approved by the Democratic majority in the legislature. The Senate and House minority leaders have in turn sued to have the map overturned in federal court on account of the data that was used for balancing population between districts was census 'survey' estimate data (from the American Community Survey (ACS)), and not the hard count data historically used for redistricting. Read the complaint here. The controversy stems from the months-long delay in delivery of redistricting population data by the Census Bureau due to the Covid-19…
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Fast-Track Future Redistricting Litigation

By EditorMay 17, 2021
The Wisconsin state supreme court declined on Friday, to include all redistricting cases in its original jurisdiction. The decision was in response to a petition by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to fast-track redistricting litigation in the state by having that court conduct a full trial and devise remedies at the outset as opposed to just conducting an appellate review of lower court decisions. Read the court decision here. The court declined any blanket rule for redistricting challenges and instead indicated that it would decide on whether original jurisdiction applies on a case-by-case basis. "as drafted, the procedures…
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