Category Archives: redistricting

Must Read Michael Wines in the NYT: “Maps in Four States Were Ruled Illegal Gerrymanders. They’re Being Used Anyway.”

August 8, 2022, 7:54 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: Since January, judges in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio have found that Republican legislators illegally drew those states’ congressional maps along racial or partisan lines, or that a trial very likely would conclude that they did. In years past,… Continue reading

Cert. Petition Asserts Racial Gerrymandering of PA State Legislative Districts

July 15, 2022, 5:04 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Here’s the question presented by the cert petition in Benninghoff v. 2021 Legislative Reapportionment Commission, brought by Pennsylvania’s Republican House Majority Leader: Pennsylvania’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission admittedly made extensive use of race in constructing up to 14 state legislative… Continue reading

CLC on “The Supreme Court’s Role in the Degradation of U.S. Democracy”

July 13, 2022, 8:07 amcampaign finance, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

From the first page of the hard-hitting report, available here, that Campaign Legal Center released today: The time has come to talk about what the Supreme Court is doing to American democracy. For more than half a century—roughly during… Continue reading

2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index

July 13, 2022, 7:27 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

Available here, with maps for each congressional district and state. “Now that all 50 states have finalized new lines for the 2022 elections, the Cook Political Report is pleased to introduce the 25th Anniversary edition of the Cook… Continue reading

“Gerrymander U.S.A.”

July 13, 2022, 5:39 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

Jesse Wegman in the NYT, with photos by Damon Winter of Denton, TX in the state’s 13th Congressional District, which is now represented by former Trump WH physician Ronny Jackson.

“How Redistricting Gives Republicans New Political Power”

July 10, 2022, 7:45 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

WSJ: Republicans are favored to take control of the House in this year’s midterm elections, and redistricting has given them a built-in advantage that could span the next 10 years.The GOP is expected to net a handful of… Continue reading

“ND Judge Won’t Throw Out Tribes’ Redistricting Suit”

July 8, 2022, 3:35 pmredistricting, Uncategorized, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Law360: “A North Dakota federal judge on Thursday denied the state’s motion to dismiss a suit claiming its new legislative districts dilute Native Americans’ voting rights, ruling the tribes’ right to seek a remedy is embedded in case law.”… Continue reading

“How The Supreme Court Could Turbocharge Gerrymandering — Just In Time for 2024”

July 8, 2022, 9:18 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

538 on Moore v. Harper: The independent state legislature theory is fewer than 25 years old, and for most of its life, it’s been relegated to the fringes of academia. But it was widely promoted by former President Donald … Continue reading

“Next Time Trump Tries to Steal an Election, He Won’t Need a Mob”

July 8, 2022, 8:16 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jamelle Bouie’s NYT column: Last week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, a challenge to North Carolina’s new congressional map.The long and short of the case is that North Carolina Republicans proposed a… Continue reading

“‘One Person, One Vote’ Review: Gerrymander to Win the Game”

June 24, 2022, 2:50 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

WSJ review of Nick Seabrook’s new book, One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America.

Opposition to Louisiana’s Request for a Supreme Court Stay in Redistricting Case Now Posted

June 23, 2022, 4:13 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find them here and here.

“What We Lose When We Lose Competitive Congressional Districts”

June 23, 2022, 6:59 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Lee Drutman for 538: Competitive congressional districts have been steadily disappearing for decades. In the current redistricting cycle, six highly competitive districts in the House of Representatives were drawn out of existence. The Cook Political Report estimates that … Continue reading

“Pennsylvania’s congressional map returns to the court”

June 20, 2022, 7:28 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

SCOTUSBlog: Much attention has been devoted recently to the increased calls for emergency relief from the Supreme Court in fast-paced ligation on the shadow docket. When the justices deny an emergency application, however, that is not necessarily the end… Continue reading

With Florida’s Maps in Place, 2022 Redistricting Cycle Basically Done

June 3, 2022, 5:00 amredistricting2022 Redistricting cycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times offers this summary of the 2022 redistricting cycle. Key points: Litigation over congressional maps continues, but it is unlikely to change the maps before November.This redistricting cycle “has created a much less competitive House map than before.”The Democrats… Continue reading