Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

Gov. Greg Abbott put mid-decade redistricting on the agenda after Trump suggested a redraw and after a Trump-aligned DOJ letter questioned the legality of four existing districts. Texas’s special session, which convened on July 21 in part to redraw the congressional map, set off a chain reaction among states looking to counter what some say is an "unusual move," although not unprecedented. On July 30, House Republicans released a draft map that could flip the state’s delegation from 25-13 to roughly 30-8 in the GOP’s favor. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny their Republican counterparts a quorum, and…
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Florida High Court Affirms 2022 Congressional Map, Eliminating Former Majority-Black District

Florida High Court Affirms 2022 Congressional Map, Eliminating Former Majority-Black District

The Florida Supreme Court’s 5-1 decision on Thursday keeps Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map intact, which splits a Jacksonville-to-Tallahassee coalition of Black voters and cements the GOP’s current 20-8 edge in the U.S. House delegation. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz called the eliminated Black district in the 2022 map a “race-based gerrymander” that violated equal-protection principles and said lawmakers had a “superior obligation” to follow federal, not state, law when race and redistricting collide. The lone dissent warned the opinion could render the amendment’s non-diminishment clause “practically ineffective.” The decision signals that Florida’s newly constituted high court…
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Redistricting Update. Week of February 11, 2024: News from FL, NY, NC, WA, and WI.

Redistricting Update. Week of February 11, 2024: News from FL, NY, NC, WA, and WI.

Redistricting developments in the states for the week of February 11, 2024. Click on the state button for more news and media. Florida Florida officials, legislators fight speeding up redistricting case New York New House lines approved in New York. What would change. North Carolina Redistricting plaintiffs oppose consolidation of two federal cases Washington What we can learn from Washington’s independent redistricting commission Wisconsin Wisconsin Legislature passes Democratic governor’s redistricting maps Find us on: This is some text Hey look. More text! Find us on:
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Redistricting Update. Week of January 28, 2024: News from FL, LA, MI, MO, NC, and WI.

Redistricting Update. Week of January 28, 2024: News from FL, LA, MI, MO, NC, and WI.

Redistricting developments in the states for the week of January 28, 2024. Click on the state button for more news and media. NationalRedistricting fights in these states could determine which party controls the US House (CNN) Florida Florida Supreme Court will consider challenge to DeSantis’ redistricting map Louisiana After a court fight, Louisiana's new congressional map boosts Black political power Louisiana lawmakers approve a new congressional map with a second majority-Black district Michigan Justices decline to intervene in Michigan redistricting dispute (scotusblog) Montana Montana officials discuss map redistricting North Carolina Judge denies injunction request in state Senate redistricting lawsuit Wisconsin…
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Redistricting Update. Week of January 21, 2024: News from FL, LA, MI, WA,  and WI.

Redistricting Update. Week of January 21, 2024: News from FL, LA, MI, WA, and WI.

Redistricting developments in the states for the week of January 21, 2024. Click on the state button for more news and media. NationalWhich states could get new congressional maps in 2024? (abcnews) The Failed Promise of Independent Election Mapmaking (ProPublica) Florida ACLU sues Daytona Beach, saying redistricting was driven by protecting incumbents Louisiana Louisiana lawmakers approve a new congressional map with a second majority-Black district Louisiana Legislature Passes Congressional Map With Two Majority-Black Districts Michigan Michigan’s Secretary of State asks Supreme Court to pause redistricting for 2024 Redistricting commission begins redrawing Detroit-area state House maps Washington Five new maps proposed…
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16 States Join in Alabama’s Challenge to the Census Bureau’s Data Privacy Program

On Monday, 16 states joined Alabama in deriding the U.S. Census Bureau's newly adapted data privacy policy (aka differential privacy) which uses statistical algorithms to distort raw census data before it is released to states and the public. The states who jointly filed as amici in Alabama's lawsuit against the Bureau are Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Utah. The amicus brief filed on behalf of these states lists three "major harms" caused by differential privacy. 1) local redistricting cannot be conducted with any reasonable accuracy; 2)…
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Florida: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

Florida: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

Florida’s litigation in the 2010 cycle focused primarily on the “Fair Districts Amendments” added to the state constitution by initiative in 2010. There were two nearly identical amendments: one setting standards applicable to congressional districts (art. III, § 20), and the other setting standards applicable to state legislative districts (art. III, § 21). The amendments spawned a flood of litigation challenging the amendments themselves, plans adopted under the new standards, and—in the process—plaintiffs’ attempts to determine the intent of the legislators who adopted the plans.. The new constitutional standards are set out in two tiers. The first-tier standards have equal…
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Redistrictingonline Monthly Redistricting Update (March 2017)

Redistrictingonline Monthly Redistricting Update (March 2017)

Politics Roll Call interviews National Democratic Redistricting Committee Executive Director Kelly Ward about its strategy going into 2020: Watch: Inside the Democrat Party’s National Redistricting Strategy   In-Depth Late in 2016, PBS’s American Law Journal gave an in-depth treatment of gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.  Hosts interview lawmakers, review the technology behind redistricting and cover reform efforts: Watch: PBS Covers Pennsylvania Gerrymandering and Reform In-Depth Litigation Six years in the making, a federal district court panel released its opinion late last month in the long arduous litigation we call Texas Redistricting.  We explain what that means and survey the news coverage in  Texas Congressional Districts Invalidated by…
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A Redistricting Dilemma for a Florida School Board

A Redistricting Dilemma for a Florida School Board

Lee County, Florida - The Lee County school board is debating whether redistricting is needed to elect a minority to its school board, which represents a county that is 55% minority.  A recent Supreme Court case, politics, and general confusion about redistricting has delayed any action so far.  This editorial in the News-Press gives a detailed discussion of the problem and the boards ongoing struggle with minority representation issues.
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