A Quick History of North Carolina Redistricting Litigation Post 2010

A Quick History of North Carolina Redistricting Litigation Post 2010

By EditorJan 22, 2018
North Carolina - The redistricting process in North Carolina has the makings of a classic thriller. There are twists, turns, politics, intrigue, and edge of your seat courtroom drama.  Not to mention the crazy quilt of maps.  Here is an overview of what has happened so far in this state’s district drawing saga. (more…)
Partisan Gerrymandering, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

By EditorMar 20, 2017
Georgia - Traditionally reserved for the beginning of the decade, redistricting is on the table again in Georgia as a proposal for new House districts has cleared that chamber and is being considered in the Georgia senate.  As a practical matter, redistricting usually only happens once in a decade.  Although, in most states there is no law that would limit it to that, the task is such a delicate, complex and highly controversial one that most do not dare to go through it any more than they have to. Georgia's republican controlled legislature has got the attention of former attorney general Eric Holder,…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Strategy and Politics, , , , , ,
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What’s Next in Texas Redistricting

What’s Next in Texas Redistricting

By EditorMar 17, 2017
On March 10th a federal district court panel in San Antonio Texas ruled that the State legislature’s 2011 congressional redistricting map was drawn in manner that violated the U.S. constitution.  The court found several districts in the map were the product of intentional racial discrimination and minority vote dilution.  While the ruling was a surprise, considering the case had been drawn out for nearly six years, it was also slightly anti-climactic since the ruling referred to a map that Texas no longer uses as its congressional districts.  The court had drawn an interim map in 2012 after finding that some…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , , , , , ,
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Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

By EditorAug 16, 2016
North Carolina - Last Thursday, a three-judge U.S. District Court panel ruled that 28 of the Republican-drawn districts for the N.C. legislature were indeed unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. The Republican practice of making "safe" minority districts even "safer" to comply with the Voting Rights Act was completely disavowed by the court.  In short, the Voting Rights Act does not mandate districts in which minorities are already successful at electing their preferred candidates, to be packed with even more minority voters - something that North Carolina insisted was the case. The districts will stand for the 2016 election however.  The court has ordered a…
Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, , , ,
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Case

By EditorMar 09, 2015
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The case revolves around the Republican-led legislatures' challenge to a state constitutional amendment that voters passed by initiative in 2000 giving a bipartisan commission control over redrawing Arizona's state and congressional district boundaries. While there are some initial issues of standing, the substantive question in this case will be whether the U.S. Constitution's Elections Clause prevents a state from transferring redistricting authority to an entity other than the legislature. So far, there have been several early impressions of the oral argument published, many…
Elections Clause, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Litigation, , , ,
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