Watch: George Wash. University’s Peyton McCrary Discusses Voting Rights, Alabama, and SCOTUS on C-SPAN

Watch: George Wash. University’s Peyton McCrary Discusses Voting Rights, Alabama, and SCOTUS on C-SPAN

By EditorAug 22, 2023
From CSPAN.org's Washington Journal: Peyton McCrary on the Supreme Court and Voting RightsOn Monday, Peyton McCrary discussed the impact of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision on Allen v. Milligan, which upheld Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The challenge was brought by minority voters in Alabama following the redrawing of the state's congressional districts after the 2020 census. McCrary, now a professorial lecturer at George Washington University Law School, retired as a historian in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice in 2016. Since leaving government service, he has testified as an expert witness in…
Redistricting Litigation, Voting Rights Act, , , , , , , , ,
Read More
Update: Status of New Hampshire Redistricting Litigation(July 2023)

Update: Status of New Hampshire Redistricting Litigation(July 2023)

By EditorJul 21, 2023
New Hampshire reportedly was the last state to complete redistricting for the 2020 cycle after the legislature and governor failed to agree on a map. The political struggles surrounding the enactment of a congressional map have given way to legal challenges against the state senate and house maps. Details below. Congressional Map The New Hampshire State Supreme Court took jurisdiction in case of an impasse over the congressional map in April of 2022. (Norelli v. Scanlan) The legislature presented two maps to the governor - one in March and another in May - both of which the governor announced his…
Case Updates, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, State Laws, , ,
Read More
Utah Supreme Court Requests Additional Briefing in Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge

Utah Supreme Court Requests Additional Briefing in Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge

By EditorJul 19, 2023
The Utah Supreme Court seemed to be grappling with the issue of the citizen's right to initiative versus the legislature's right to enact laws. After oral argument in a case alleging that the 2021 congressional district map was a partisan gerrymander, (see League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature) the question arose of whether the legislature had the right to repeal a statute with anti-gerrymandering provisions (Proposition 4) - which it did in 2020. In October of last year, the trial court dismissed the claims regarding the Utah Legislature’s repeal of Proposition 4 but allowed the League's…
Case Updates, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, State Laws, , , ,
Read More
Watch: Utah Supreme Court Oral Argument in Congressional Map Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Watch: Utah Supreme Court Oral Argument in Congressional Map Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By EditorJul 18, 2023
The Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a partisan gerrymandering challenge to the state's 2021 congressional map. The case is League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature. Watch on YouTube. For news, litigation documents, district maps, and more information about Utah Redistricting, visit the Utah Redistricting Almanac Page. The Almanac home page for all 50 states is here. Find us on:
Case Updates, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, State Laws, VIDEO, , , ,
Read More
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…
Case Updates, Casedocs, HOME, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Litigation, , , , ,
Read More
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…
Case Updates, Casedocs, Elections Clause, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, , , , ,
Read More

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…
Case Updates, Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Voting Rights Act, , , , ,
Read More
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…
Casedocs, HOME, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, State Laws, ,
Read More
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,
Read More
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"…
Case Updates, NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , ,
Read More