Category Archives: redistricting

Some Thoughts on What the Supreme Court Will Do with the Partisan Gerrymandering Cases Coming Before It

January 3, 2019, 6:31 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Tweet thread from me, starts here: There's an excellent chance that tomorrow the Supreme Court will announce it will take up (again) the question whether partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. Don't take an agreement to hear case as a sign the… Continue reading

Federal Court Remands North Carolina State Partisan Gerrymandering Case Back to State Court

January 2, 2019, 10:45 amredistrictingRick Hasen

This order was expected; an opinion is promised to follow. Earlier coverage: With North Carolina Supreme Court Now Holding Democratic Majority, Republicans in North Carolina Legislature Seek to Move Partisan Gerrymandering Case to Federal Court.

“Voters Rejected Gerrymandering In 2018, But Some Lawmakers Try To Hold Power”

December 28, 2018, 8:16 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NPR reports.

“Partisan Gerrymandering, the First Amendment, and the Political Outsider”

December 19, 2018, 9:03 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bertrall Ross has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Columbia Law Review). Here is the abstract: The most recent call for judicial intervention into state partisan gerrymandering practices ran aground on the shoals of standing doctrine in Gill v. Whitford.… Continue reading

With North Carolina Supreme Court Now Holding Democratic Majority, Republicans in North Carolina Legislature Seek to Move Partisan Gerrymandering Case to Federal Court

December 17, 2018, 6:09 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Michael Li has the details in this twitter thread: North Carolina Republicans have removed the state-court partisan gerrymandering case challenging the state's legislative maps to federal court. Notice of removal here: https://t.co/cNnNyci9bW #fairmaps #ncpol 1/ — Michael Li 李之樸… Continue reading

“Jersey Democrats cancel vote on controversial redistricting plan”

December 16, 2018, 6:13 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

NJ.com: Inundated with fierce opposition from across the political spectrum, Democrats who lead the New Jersey Legislature have abruptly shelved a controversial redistricting plan that critics say could bolster their power for decades. Democratic leaders had scheduled a vote for… Continue reading

“Va. House GOP asks U.S. Supreme Court to stop new electoral map”

December 14, 2018, 8:52 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Republican leaders in the Virginia House of Delegates have formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block a lower court’s efforts to redraw the House map for the 2019 elections. In a court filing… Continue reading

“Democrats in New Jersey Have a Firm Grip on Power. They Want Even More.”

December 13, 2018, 9:17 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: Legislative power brokers across the country have long designed district lines in back-room deals that entrenched their control for years, if not decades. But now, Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey are carrying out a power grab in an unusually… Continue reading

Supreme Court Might Not Hear North Carolina Partisan Gerrymandering Case Until Next Term, Meaning Possible Decision in June 2020, and Potentially Leaving NC Districts in Place for 2020 Elections and Perhaps Rendering Case Moot

December 12, 2018, 9:08 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

So predicts key Court watcher John Elwood: My instinct is Court won't act before 1/4 conference. I suspect they'll reschedule until late January, so argument would come next fall. I doubt John Roberts wants to revisit an issue that flummoxed… Continue reading

“J.H. Snider: A jury should decide on Maryland’s next redistricting map”

December 11, 2018, 6:02 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Column in the Capital Gazette.

“With Power Grabs in the Midwest, G.O.P. Risks a 2020 Backlash”

December 11, 2018, 7:37 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: The continuing legislative maneuvers in Michigan and Wisconsin are part of a broader war for power in the Midwest, a politically prized region for both parties — but especially for Republicans, who are trying to dilute Democratic control ahead… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Austin, Texas Low Campaign Contributions Case, Takes No Action on North Carolina Gerrymandering Petition

December 10, 2018, 6:49 amcampaign finance, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

With no noted dissent, the Supreme Court has turned down a cert. petition in the Zimmerman campaign finance case from Austin Texas. I flagged this case (along with a Montana case that the Court will consider taking up in January)… Continue reading