Analysis

Study: Partisan and Racial Representation Outcomes in the 2020 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorOct 10, 2022

A recent article published in Publius: The Journal of Federalism, explores and measures partisan fairness, competitiveness, and minority representation in newly enacted redistricting maps across the states. A summary of the results is below. Read the article here. Christopher Warshaw (George Wash. Univ.), Eric McGhee, (Public Policy Institute of California) and Michal Migurski (Planscore.org, USA) are coauthors of this study and they describe their findings with this statement in their abstract: "We find that both parties have enacted increasingly extreme partisan gerrymanders when they control the redistricting process. The combination of Republicans’ control of the redistricting process in far more…

Race in RedistrictingAnalysis, dataindepth, Datanews, national, News

Redistricting Status Update: Washington State (Feb 2022)

By Marissa ZanfardinoFeb 13, 2022

The status of redistricting in Washington State. After missing a Nov. 15, 2021 deadline, the Washington State Redistricting Commission approved congressional and state legislative maps just minutes later on Nov. 16th. Despite the missed deadline, the Commission asked the State Supreme Court to consider the late adopted maps. In the days after the Commission adopted its maps, two legal challenges were filed, including one from a government transparency group alleging that commissioners flouted the public meetings law by negotiating secretly for hours on November 15, 2021 before taking a rushed vote at midnight. That lawsuit claimed, “Commissioners held a pro…

FEATURES, RedistrictingAnalysis, STATENEWS, Washington

Illinois Federal Court Rejects Voting Rights Act and Racial Gerrymandering Challenges to Legislature’s State Senate and House Maps

By EditorDec 31, 2021

On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a per curiam opinion rejecting the claims of three groups of plaintiffs in the consolidated cases (McConchie, Contreras, and East St. Louis NAACP) against the state legislative district maps, which the legislature approved in September. The claims included allegations of racial gerrymandering and minority vote dilution in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In regards to the votings rights claims, the court characterized the plaintiff's view of the maps as a failure to "maximize" minority electoral success, and warned that the Supreme Court has…

Case Updates, Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Voting Rights ActAnalysis, Illinois, lawindepth, lpequalpro, lpvra, racial gerrymandering, Voting Rights Act

Arkansas State House Map Gets Voting Rights Act Challenge in Federal Court

By EditorDec 31, 2021

On Wednesday, the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel filed a lawsuit against the newly enacted Arkansas State House district map. The suit alleges minority vote dilution in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The case is Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Bd. of Apportionment. Read the Complaint. PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 29, 2021 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Arkansas, Law Office of Bryan L. Sells LLC, and Dechert LLP filed a federal lawsuit today challenging a new redistricting plan for the Arkansas State House of Representatives that would undermine the voting strength of…

Case Updates, Casedocs, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights ActAnalysis, arkansas, lawindepth, lawsuit, lpvra, Voting Rights Act

Listen: ACS ‘Broken Law’ Podcast Talks Redistricting Law and Policy with the Brennan Center’s Michael Li

By EditorSep 01, 2021

The American Constitution Society's Lindsay Langholz interviews Michael Li (李之樸), Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center, to talk gerrymandering, census and redistricting ahead of the 2020 redistricting cycle in the states. ACS Broken Law Podcast: Episode 12: Preparing for Redistricting, Bracing for Gerrymandering (Aug 24, 2021)

Redistricting, Redistricting Functions, Redistricting GerrymandersAnalysis, gerrymandering, lawindepth, podcast

Listen: JMU Podcast Interviews David Wasserman on What to Expect for the 2020 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorSep 01, 2021

The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement Democracy Matters podcast series interviews redistricting expert David Wasserman, Senior Editor, U.S. House of Representatives for The Cook Political Report about what this redistricting cycle will look like across the nation. Listen below. Democracy Matters Podcast August 26, 2021

POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Functions, Redistricting LitigationAnalysis, policyindepth

[Podcast] Partners at Akin Gump, and Professor/Consultant Kareem Crayton Discuss Redistricting Law and the Census

By EditorAug 30, 2021

ON-Air with Akin Gump digs into the legal side of redistricting. In this episode, Akin Gump litigation partner Hyongsoon Kim and Supreme Court and appellate senior counsel Aileen McGrath and Crimcard founder and managing partner Dr. Kareem Crayton discuss redistricting and the impact of the 2020 Census. Listen Below.

Redistricting, Redistricting Functions, Redistricting LitigationAnalysis, lawindepth, lpvra

Time.com Article Lays Out the Case for Prison Gerrymandering Reform

By EditorJul 05, 2021

Prison Gerrymandering is more an act of omission than commission in that it occurs as a result of the redistricting process unless a jurisdiction acts to reverse it. In the 10 years between the 2010 and 2020 redistricting cycle, nearly a dozen states have committed to rectifying what many advocates say is a distortion in representational rights as a result of counting prisoners as residents of the electoral districts they are incarcerated in as opposed to the districts they resided in prior. Time.com offers this recent article that describes the issue in practical terms and makes the case for nationwide…

FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting PrisonersAnalysis, lpstatelaw, policyindepth, Prison gerrymandering, prisoner reallocation, prisoners

Duke University Prof. Will Discuss “Monte Carlo” Sampling Method for Fair Redistricting Maps

By EditorJul 03, 2021

Monte Carlo sampling is generally a numerical method of solving mathematical problems through random sampling. When applied to redistricting, many academics advocate its use either to ferret out extreme gerrymandering or to produce more fairly drawn maps in the first place. Professor of Mathematics Jonathan Christopher Mattingly of Duke University, will be discussing the Monte Carlo method in-depth as it applies to redistricting on July 20th as the I.E. Block Community Lecturer at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) virtual annual meeting. Mattingly has served as an expert witness in several high-profile restricting cases, including the recent U.S. Supreme Court case…

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Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Minority Groups During Redistricting Due to Differential Privacy

By EditorApr 05, 2021

Civil rights groups are raising concerns about the accuracy of the U.S. Census Bureau’s proposed new system for protecting privacy in a report released today. The report raises concerns about how the Bureau's use of differential privacy as evidenced by recent demonstration data, will obfuscate the true population count of minority populations and frustrate compliance with federal (and some state) Voting Rights laws governing the redistricting process. PRESS RELEASE April 5, 2021: Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Upcoming Redistricting Efforts Highlight Concerns About the Census Bureau’s Differential Privacy Methodology (Washington, D.C.) – Civil rights groups…

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