How Will the Alabama SCOTUS Decision Affect Litigation in Other States?

By EditorJun 15, 2023

The Supreme Court's somewhat "unexpected" ruling on the Section 2 challenge to Alabama's congressional district map has led to questions about what effect it will have in states with ongoing Section 2 litigation. Below are some articles that ask and attempt to answer the question of how the Alabama decision will affect litigation in those states. Texas Litigation: Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case. (Texas Tribune) Arkansas: Plaintiffs hope SCOTUS decision in Alabama case bodes well for Arkansas redistricting lawsuits. (ualrpublicradio.org/) Georgia: Redistricting: Court ruling against Alabama's racially redistricted map could affect Georgia.…

LAW, NEWS, Redistrictingarkansas, Georgia, lawindepth, louisiana, section 2, STATENEWS, Texas, Voting Rights Act

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 LawsAlaska, lawindepth, STATENEWS

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 LitigationIndependent Redistricting Commission, lawindepth, new york, nyirc, policyindepth, redistricting commissions, STATENEWS

Redistricting Notes: New Map Challenge Brewing in WI. Boston Map Challenge in Hands of Federal Judge.

By EditorApr 10, 2023

Wisconsin: With a new liberal majority on the Wisconsin supreme court, at least one organization is planning to bring a new legal challenge to the state's Congressional and legislative maps. Expect litigation in the late summer or early Fall. Boston, MA: The Boston City Council's "unity map" is under litigation for racial gerrymandering and after a trial last week, a federal court must decide whether the map will stand. The judge hearing the case has warned that if the map is overturned, the court will not elect to redraw the map or have a special master draw a remedial map.…

NEWS, RedistrictingMassachusetts, policyindepth, STATENEWS, Wisconsin

Federal Register Notice Comment Period for OMB Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards Extended to April 27

By EditorApr 07, 2023

U.S. Census Bureau News Release April 7, 2023 — On January 27, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice and request for comments on “Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards.” OMB is extending the public comment period for that notice, which currently closes on April 12, 2023, by 15 days. The comment period will now remain open until April 27, 2023, to allow additional time for the public to review and comment on the initial proposals. You can submit comments by clicking the link above and following the instructions. Background OMB maintains government-wide standards for…

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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.…

LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting Litigation, State LawsNorth Carolina, northcarolina, STATENEWS

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…

Case Updates, NEWS, RedistrictingSouth Carolina

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…

Case Updates, Casedocs, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigationnew york, partisan gerrymandering, STATENEWS

Court: New York Will Have Congressional and Senate Maps by May 20.

By EditorApr 29, 2022

The litigation surrounding New York's congressional and senate maps will end by May 20, according to the Stueben County appellate court. The court's announcement comes after the state's highest court invalidated both maps on Wednesday (April 27th). Here is a recap of the litigation which began in February. The litigation surrounding these two maps began in mid-February and sped through all three levels of the state court system (trial court, appellate court, and the state's highest court) in just over 2 months. While there was some disagreement among courts regarding whether the maps enacted by the legislature were the product…

Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, State Lawslawindepth, new york, partisan gerrymandering, STATENEWS

New York Redistricting Maps Thrown Out by State Trial Court. Congressional Map Declared Partisan Gerrymander

By EditorApr 01, 2022

On Thursday, Mar. 31, a New York trial court invalidated the legislature's 2022 congressional and state legislative maps. The decision was primarily grounded in the procedural requirements of New York's state constitution, which the court said the legislature violated when it adopted maps of its own after the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) failed to produce a second set of maps. Read the opinion. According to the court, the constitutional provision creating the IRC allowed the legislature to draw maps only after the IRC submits 2 sets of maps and the legislature rejects them. The IRC deadlocked in Jan of 2022…

Case Updates, Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Redistricting, State Lawsnew york, partisan gerrymandering, STATENEWS