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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Litigation Notes: Challenge to Galveston Co. TX Commissioner Court Map Survives Motion to Dismiss and will Proceed to Trial

Litigation Notes: Challenge to Galveston Co. TX Commissioner Court Map Survives Motion to Dismiss and will Proceed to Trial

By EditorApr 12, 2023
Galveston Co., Texas: The County's adopted commissioner court precinct map for the 2020 cycle, is being challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), voting rights organizations, and several individual voters. The claims in the consolidated case center around the maps' elimination of the sole remaining minority-opportunity district. The county had failed to preclear a similar map during the 2010 cycle and was subject to a preliminary injunction by a federal district court to prevent the use of that map. The current map is being challenged on several grounds including racial gerrymandering, minority vote dilution, and intentional racial discrimination under…
Case Updates, Partisan Gerrymandering, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation,
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Briefs Filed in Litigation to Redraw New York’s Congressional Map

Briefs Filed in Litigation to Redraw New York’s Congressional Map

By EditorApr 10, 2023
Last week, briefs were filed in a case brought by a group of voters to redraw New York's current congressional map. The state used a map drawn by a court special master to conduct the 2022 election after a map drawn by the legislature was deemed a partisan gerrymander. The New York legislature had only passed its map after a newly established independent redistricting commission (NYIRC), deadlocked on maps in January of 2022. Now the question is whether the legislature, the commission, or both can have another go at it. A trial court in September of 2022 unequivocally answered "no"…
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Watch: NC Supreme Court Rehears Congressional Redistricting Map Case

Watch: NC Supreme Court Rehears Congressional Redistricting Map Case

By EditorMar 15, 2023
A reconstituted North Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that the court decided in February of 2022. The 2022 decision invalidated the legislature's congressional map and replaced it with a map drawn by a special master. Later in the year, the court gained a conservative majority following the 2022 mid-term elections, and in a move some call unprecedented, it agreed to rehear the case to consider whether it should overturn its previous decision - or at least allow the North Carolina legislature to enact a new congressional map. Watch the oral arguments at the link below.…
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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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Litigation Update for South Carolina Redistricting (March 2023)

Litigation Update for South Carolina Redistricting (March 2023)

By EditorMar 05, 2023
Litigation began in earnest in October of 2021 as the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP anticipated the legislature's failure to draw valid lines. To compel the timely redrawing of district lines, the conference filed a lawsuit in federal district court. These lawsuits - often called "malapportionment" lawsuits - contend that a map violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because the population totals of the various districts are out of proportion. However, the legislature passed the state senate and state house maps in December 2021 and the governor signed a congressional map in January 2022. The NAACP…
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WATCH: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument in NC Congressional Map Case (Moore v. Harper)

WATCH: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument in NC Congressional Map Case (Moore v. Harper)

By EditorDec 15, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Moore v. Harper, a case regarding North Carolina’s congressional district map. North Carolina’s 2021 congressional map was approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature and subsequently challenged as a Republican partisan gerrymander, which is prohibited in North Carolina. The state Supreme Court invalidated the map and blocked its use in the 2022 midterm elections. A new map was eventually completed by court-appointed experts and used in the elections, but Republican legislative leaders appealed to the nation’s highest court. The case hinges on the so-called "independent state legislature theory," which is the idea that…
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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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