Listen: 3 Minute Summary of Court Ruling on Trump Administrations Apportionment Count Method

By EditorSep 12, 2020

NPR's "All Things Considered" explains the recent New York federal district court ruling involving the apportionment count. It is one of several lawsuits seeking to enjoin the president from requiring the Census Bureau to report an estimate of the number of illegal immigrants in each state for the purpose of using that info to apportion House seats in the U.S. Congress. A presidential memorandum seeks to adjust state total population counts used for apportionment, to exclude residents who are in the country illegally. NPR - All Things Considered. Sept. 10, 2020 (link)

DATA and TECHNOLOGY, NEWSaudio

Here’s the Status of the 2020 Census. So Far . . .

By EditorSep 12, 2020

Need a quick explanation on whats going on with the census? wondering if it will be delayed, extended or or cut short? Listen to Jeffrey Wice, an adjunct professor and senior fellow at New York Law School and head of the school’s New York Census and Redistricting Institute - explain what we know up to this point. But remember, things may be changing as you read this. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2020/09/09/census-count-update#

DATA and TECHNOLOGY, NEWScensus, census 2020, new york

Video: California Commission Holds First Meeting. Discusses Census Delays and Accuracy

By Michelle DavisSep 09, 2020

The 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission has recently formed and sworn in all 14 of its members. Below is a clip from the first full meeting on August 26th. The entire virtual meeting is over five hours long with mostly procedural issues discussed in the first several hours. The clip below is the final 90 minutes, in which commission members were briefed on possible census delays, and a recent court decision extending the commission's deadlines for maps. Members also discussed whether to compose an amicus brief or letter of support in a recent lawsuit against the Census Bureau's plan to…

NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Commissions, VIDEOCalifornia, commission, States

Oregon Redistricting Commission Ballot Measure Efforts TimeOut

By Michelle DavisSep 04, 2020

At least one news outlet has described the failed Oregon redistricting reform ballot initiative as a "dramatic legal saga." By all accounts, they would be correct. You can read a detailed account from Oregon Public Broadcasting here and here. Read below for a quick summary. a group wishing to put a question on the November ballot to approve a nonpartisan redistricting commission for Oregon districts failed to obtain the 155,000 signatures needed.the group successfully argued in a federal district court that the pandemic unfairly restricted signature-gathering efforts. The court ultimately allowed a lower signature requirement of 59,000.the state Attorney General…

NEWS, Redistricting, REFORM, State Lawscommission, legal, lpstatelaw, Oregon, reform, States

Watch: Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Town Hall Discusses Anti-Gerrymandering Legislation

By Michelle DavisSep 03, 2020

Interested in Pennsylvania redistricting reform? Watch this recent town hall organized by reform group Fair Districts PA to discuss the Legislative and Congressional Redistricting Act (LACRA), which has been introduced in both houses of the state legislature. Participants include members of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project team who give insight into mapping criteria and metrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzsoZ9AnAXk

NEWS, Redistricting, REFORM, VIDEOlegal, PA, Pennsylvania, reform

Second Court Rewords Missouri Redistricting Ballot Amendment Language

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020

A county circuit court judge ruled earlier last month that the wording of a ballot measure authored by the Republican legislature was “misleading” in an effort to “entice” voters into repealing an anti-gerrymandering reform measure approved by voters in 2018. This week a Missouri Appeals Court affirmed the lower court ruling that the original ballot language was misleading but it reworded the circuit court’s rewrite as well. You can read all three versions below. The circuit court replaced the ballot summary language for Amendment 3 to make clear that if the measure is approved, it would reverse the 2018 measure.The…

NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, REFORM, State Lawslawsuit, legal, lpstatelaw, Missouri, reform, STATENEWS, States

A “Listen” to the Seedy Underbelly of Redistricting

By Michelle DavisOct 02, 2019

In this Slate article published today, portions of a leaked audio recording of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s 2019 annual meeting in Austin, TX reveals the "bloodsport" that is redistricting. Presenters at this meeting reveal tactics to use for the courtroom, the media, political opponents and every other aspect of the "sport." Read more on Slate.com Discussing the inevitability of Litigation. (Slate.com, How to Get Away with Gerrymandering, Oct. 02, 2019)

NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Strategy and Politics

Watch: House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Voting Discrimination

By Michelle DavisSep 12, 2019

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 10:00am Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony regarding evidence of current and ongoing voting discrimination. Witnesses included: Mr. Derrick Johnson ,President and CEO, NAACP Ms. Vanita Gupta ,President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights J. Christian Adams, President and General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation Mr. Dale Ho, Director, Voting Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union Ms. Myrna Perez, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice Ms. Natalie A. Landreth, Senior Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund https://youtu.be/VoRQ6-CD7Yc?t=1837

NEWS, REFORM, VIDEODale Ho, discrimination, hearing, House Judiciary, J. Christian Adams, lawindepth, Myrna Perez, NAACP, national, testimony, Vanita Gupta, voting

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, Uncategorizedfree and fair clause, legal, North Carolina, northcarolina, partisan gerrymandering, States

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 Litigationbenesik v Lamone, Benisek, Common Cause, legal, Maryland, North Carolina, northcarolina, partisan gerrymandering, Rucho, scotus, Supreme Court