Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By Michelle DavisApr 25, 2019

On March 26, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Benesik v. Lamone, a partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland. Click here for background on this case and its companion case, Rucho v. Common Cause (North Carolina). For a pre oral symposium hosted by SCOTUSBlog, click here. Click here to listen to oral argument for Rucho v. Common Cause.

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February Redistricting News Update

By Michelle DavisMar 01, 2019

On RedistrictingOnline . SCOTUSBLOG SYMPOSIUM IN ANTICIPATION OF ORAL ARGUMENTS IN PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING CASES WATCH: A MATHEMATICAL MEASUREMENT OF PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING WATCH: PANEL DISCUSSES ELECTION ADMINISTRATION, REDISTRICTING AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE . Around the Web . Michigan: Partisan Gerrymandering Trial Begins in Federal District Court Michigan's Republican drawn congressional and state legislative district maps went on trial in a federal district court on Tuesday, February 5th. Democratic and reform activist (Common Cause) plaintiffs claim that both quantitative research and insider emails show the state’s last redistricting was a conscious Republican gerrymander. . Pennsylvania: Penn State Student Wins Redistricting Map Challenge . Mississippi: Voting Rights Act…

Monthly Redistricting Update, NEWSMonthly Updates

Watch: A Mathematical Measurement of Partisan Gerrymandering

By Michelle DavisFeb 05, 2019

. Researchers at Duke University do a good job explaining their quantitative analysis of North Carolina’s congressional redistricting maps in lay terms. In this video they present fairly solid statistical proof that partisan gerrymandering indeed can be sniffed out by statistical algorithms that show when a map is the result of intentional and precise human design, and not mere adjustment of the boundaries that are already there. Of course, this only proves that partisan gerrymandering exists, and it is a helpful measure of the stark differences in the election results between a map drawn with precise political motivations versus on…

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Redistricting Reform Advocates Strategize at Gerrymandering Summit

By EditorJan 22, 2019

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy hosted the "Terminate Gerrymandering Summit and Fair Maps Incubator " Conference earlier this month as part of an effort to take advantage of the momentum that independent redistricting commission movements have created across the country with several states passing ballot initiatives to create "California Style" commissions. . The project is the brainchild of former CA governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The institute on campus that bears his name hosted this event at which he was the keynote speaker. Schwarzenegger explains that he wants to "accelerate the fight, bringing together those who’ve won nonpartisan redistricting…

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Federal Court Rejects a Citizenship Question for the 2020 Census

By EditorJan 15, 2019

A New York federal district court has rejected the administration's bid to place a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census. The U.S. Department of Commerce, which is the main defendant in the lawsuit, will most likely appeal this decision but this just deepens the legal, financial and operational challenges that the Census Bureau must endure just under 15 months away from the 2020 census, the data from which, states and local governments will use to redraw electoral lines. NPR lists the possible effects that the current government shutdown and this lawsuit will have on census 2020 planning here. Read…

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MD and NC Partisan Gerrymandering Cases Return to the U.S. Supreme Court

By Michelle DavisJan 08, 2019

On January 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court took up two long-standing partisan gerrymandering challenges on appeal from two federal district courts; one in Maryland and the other in North Carolina. The question in both of these cases was not whether there was partisan gerrymandering in the making of these maps. Instead it was whether this type of partisan gerrymandering is constitutional or not. The high court has seemed to duck and weave whenever it has been presented with this question in the past, but this time it feels different. Below is a little background to provide some context for the…

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Maryland’s Sixth District Ruled a Partisan Gerrymander by Federal District Court

By Michelle DavisNov 14, 2018

On November 7th, after managing a protracted series of procedural issues involving a lawsuit that was initially filed in 2013, a federal district court panel invalidated Maryland's 6th congressional district on grounds that it was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Maryland has until early March 2019 to enact a new congressional map or the court will create its own commission to do so. This case is notable since the court overturned the map on 1st amendment grounds instead of the 14th amendment, which until recently had been the basis for most if not all partisan gerrymandering challenges. (more…)

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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pennsylvania Republican’s Congressional Map Appeal

By Michelle DavisNov 01, 2018

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Republican lawmakers in the Pennsylvania legislature after a January ruling by the Pa. State Supreme Court invalidating the congressional map enacted by the body in 2011. (more…)

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Michigan State Supreme Court Hears Argument on Commission Ballot Initiative

By EditorJul 24, 2018

Last week, the Michigan State Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that pits redistricting reform advocates at odds with opponents about whether to allow a proposal for an independent redistricting commission on the ballot this election year that would amount to a sweeping reform of the redistricting process if approved by Michigan voters. (more…)

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State Supreme Court Redraws Pennsylvania Congressional Map

By EditorFeb 22, 2018

Pennsylvania - This January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the state's congressional map was an unconstitutional gerrymander. The plaintiffs had alleged the map is an eggregious partisan gerrymander executed by Republican state lawmakers that allowed Republicans to win 72% of the state's congressional delegation with just 50% of the vote. Here is the new map that court quickly adopted after the PA. state legislature failed to meet its deadline to agree and enact a replacement map. Read more at NBCnews, Washington Post, and New York Times.

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