Category Archives: redistricting

“DeSantis draws congressional map that would dramatically expand GOP’s edge in Florida”

April 14, 2022, 11:54 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NBC News: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a new congressional map that would create four more Republican-leaning districts and wipe out Democrats’ national redistricting advantage.The map — which would carve up a Black-held district — was released Wednesday… Continue reading

“Florida Legislature will let DeSantis draw US House maps”

April 12, 2022, 12:05 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Reid Wilson for The Hill: The legislature approved a map earlier this year that would have kept most districts largely the way they have existed in recent elections. A new district awarded to Florida after the decennial redistricting process would… Continue reading

“Stung by redistricting rulings, Republicans target state court elections”

April 11, 2022, 7:29 amjudicial elections, redistrictingRick Hasen

Reuters: Republicans are vowing to spend record amounts in key state supreme court races this fall, seeking to take advantage of a favorable national political environment to elect conservative judges at the state level amid deep political divisions.A string… Continue reading

“With New York District Lines On Hold, Judge Blesses Possible Backup Plan”

April 9, 2022, 1:47 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: A New York appeals court judge on Friday signed off on the appointment of a neutral expert to prepare new congressional district lines that could be used if the state’s highest court upholds a lower-court ruling that struck down… Continue reading

“Assessing the Legality of Ohio Supreme Court’s Decision to Deny Moving Primary Election Date”

April 7, 2022, 6:50 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Mark Brown for Jurist.

“Maryland Gov. Hogan signs redrawn congressional district map, ending monthslong legal and legislative battle”

April 5, 2022, 7:04 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Baltimore Sun: Gov. Larry Hogan, ending a monthslong legal and legislative tussle with Democrats, signed a map of Maryland’s congressional districts on Monday that the General Assembly redrew after a judge rejected the first version as extremely partisan.Hogan,… Continue reading

“As Both Parties Gerrymander Furiously, State Courts Block the Way”

April 4, 2022, 7:14 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT reports.

Breaking: NY State Court Finds That New York’s Congressional Maps Violate the State Constitution By Being a Democratic Party Gerrymander and Need to Be Redrawn

March 31, 2022, 1:50 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

You can find the 18-page ruling here, a ruling which is sure to be appealed. If the ruling stands and New York does not draw batter maps, the court will appoint a neutral expert to do so. I’m guessing that… Continue reading

“The US supreme court’s assault on voting rights hits a new low”

March 31, 2022, 7:52 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Sam Levine for The Guardian: Even for experts who closely follow the US supreme court, there was something stunning about an emergency decision from the justices on Wednesday.In an unexpected move, the court decided to throw out new… Continue reading

“G.O.P. Presses for Greater Edge on Florida and Ohio Congressional Maps”

March 29, 2022, 11:49 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: With the midterm election cycle fast approaching, Republicans in the key states of Florida and Ohio have made critical progress in their push to add to their dominance on congressional maps by carving new districts that would be… Continue reading

“Why redistricting has stalled in 4 unfinished states”

March 28, 2022, 7:06 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico reports. The final stage of the redistricting cycle has arrived: gridlock.Spats between governors and state legislators — and between different Republican factions — have brought map-making to a standstill in the final four states still without new congressional… Continue reading

“Litigating Gerrymandering in the Post-Rucho World: State Law and Political Maps”

March 27, 2022, 5:10 amredistrictingDerek Muller

Kathryn Randolph has a two part series (one, two) with a deep dive on the state law claims over at the State & Local Government Law Blog.

“Gerrymandering and the Limits of Representative Democracy”

March 26, 2022, 6:13 amredistrictingDerek Muller

New article from Kai Hao Yang and Alexander Zentefis: We assess the capacity of gerrymandering to undermine the will of the people in a representative democracy. Citizens have political positions represented on a spectrum, and electoral maps separate people into… Continue reading

Some recent law student scholarship on election law

March 26, 2022, 6:12 amabsentee ballots, campaign finance, redistrictingDerek Muller

This weekend, I’ll blog about some recent election law scholarship. I thought I’d start by highlighting a few student notes that caught my eye in recent weeks: Kyle Apple (Iowa), Gerrymandering the Presidency: Why Federal District Popular Voting Presents a … Continue reading