Category Archives: redistricting

“Hyperpartisan Gerrymandering”

June 5, 2019, 6:53 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Michael Kang has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Boston College Law Review). Here is the abstract: We live in hyperpartisan times. Democrats and Republicans have not been so bitterly divided along partisan lines since Reconstruction, nor so aggressively hostile… Continue reading

“Robin Vos won’t have to testify in Wisconsin gerrymandering case for now, and may not have to at all”

June 4, 2019, 3:57 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos won’t have to sit for a deposition in Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case in the short term — and might escape having to testify entirely. A panel of appeals judges blocked a lower court order Tuesday… Continue reading

“The New Trove of Secret Gerrymandering Files Will Be a Nightmare for the GOP”

May 31, 2019, 2:59 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Mark Joseph Stern for Slate: There are sure to be more revelations from the Hofeller files to come, driving home the downside of using a single consultant to mastermind redistricting across multiple states and decades.For years, Hofeller held an office… Continue reading

“Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signs law ending prison gerrymandering”

May 31, 2019, 7:12 amfelon voting, redistrictingRick Hasen

Release: Yesterday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill into law ensuring that people in state prisons will be counted as residents of their home addresses when new legislative districts are drawn. The new law makes Nevada the sixth … Continue reading

Wendy Tam Cho: “Technology-Enabled Coin Flips for Judging Partisan Gerrymandering”

May 26, 2019, 9:05 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, UncategorizedRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Wendy Tam Cho: The Court has issued a stay in the Ohio and Michigan partisan gerrymandering cases, and we await their rulings in North Carolina and Maryland. I was an expert witness… Continue reading

No Surprise: Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Blocks Redraws of Ohio, Michigan Maps Found by Lower Courts to Be Partisan Gerrymanders

May 24, 2019, 1:56 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Today’s orders are no surprise. Indeed, the Court often fails to give preliminary relief in redistricting cases even when the plaintiffs eventually win on the merits. Indeed, if the Court did allow the remaps to take place while the… Continue reading

“Washington Governor Jay Inslee signs law ending prison gerrymandering”

May 21, 2019, 3:19 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Release: Today, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into law ensuring that people in state prisons will be counted as residents of their home addresses when new legislative districts are drawn, making Washington the fifth state to… Continue reading

“Speaker Robin Vos gets temporary reprieve from appeals court in Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case”

May 18, 2019, 9:02 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A panel of federal judges late Friday temporarily blocked a lower court’s order that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos sit for a deposition in Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case. In their brief order, the judges wrote that they were suspending… Continue reading

Michigan Legislature May Take Money Away from Independent Redistricting Commission

May 14, 2019, 3:13 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Detroit News: A House appropriations bill would allow the state’s Republican-led Legislature to hold the purse strings for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission approved by voters in November.The spending bill also would chip away at Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel’s… Continue reading

“Supreme Court requests response from Ohio and Michigan gerrymander challengers”

May 13, 2019, 9:03 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Roll Call: The Supreme Court on Monday gave the challengers of congressional maps in Ohio and Michigan until May 20 to respond to requests from state officials to stop court-ordered redrawing of district lines. Lower courts found the maps… Continue reading

“Voter-Determined Districts: Ending Gerrymandering and Ensuring Fair Representation”

May 11, 2019, 8:27 amredistrictingRick Hasen

New CAP report from Alex Tausanovitch: Introduction and summaryFrom 2012 to 2016, the people of Michigan cast more than 50 percent of their ballots for Democratic Party legislative candidates. They voted for Democrats 52 percent of the time for… Continue reading

“Ohio, Michigan legislators seek partisan-gerrymandering stays”

May 11, 2019, 8:25 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

SCOTUSBlog: At the end of March, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases challenging federal congressional districts in North Carolina and Maryland as the product of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. A key question in both cases was whether courts… Continue reading

Steve Mazie on the Ohio Partisan Gerrymandering Ruling

May 9, 2019, 10:40 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here at The Economist.

“In Michigan & Ohio, Justice Delayed Could Mean Justice Denied; Is There A Better Way?”

May 8, 2019, 4:38 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Mike Parsons: In the past two weeks, federal district courts have struck down partisan gerrymanders in both Michigan and Ohio. As a matter of legal doctrine, these decisions are important. As Nick Stephanopoulos states, they reveal an emerging … Continue reading