Category Archives: redistricting

“After two rejections, is Ohio attorney general slow-walking anti-gerrymandering amendment?”

September 28, 2023, 9:43 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Ohio Capital Journal: One might think that a movement associated with a former state Supreme Court chief justice could draft a petition summary that passes legal muster. But twice already, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected summaries of a… Continue reading

“Redistricting redux: North Carolina lawmakers to draw again new maps for Congress and themselves”

September 28, 2023, 6:08 amredistrictingRick Hasen

AP: With a new state budget completed, North Carolina legislators now turn their attention yet again to mapping the state’s congressional and General Assembly districts. The House and Senate redistricting committees scheduled hearings this week — the last one… Continue reading

“Pluribus AM: All redistricting, all the time”

September 27, 2023, 7:13 amredistrictingRick Hasen

From Reid Wilson’s indispensable morning newsletter on news around the states: In Politics & Business We should just rename this section “Today in Redistricting Litigation” ALABAMA: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alabama’s bid to keep a U.S. House district map that… Continue reading

Without Noted Dissent, and As Expected, Supreme Court Denies Alabama’s Motion to Further Delay Having to Draw Second Black Majority Congressional District

September 26, 2023, 7:07 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The order is here. As I explained, even if some members of the Court like Justice Kavanaugh were convinced there’s a potential constitutional argument against Section 2 down the line, the Justices were not going to countenance Alabama’s disobedience of… Continue reading

In Reply Brief Before Expected Supreme Court Ruling, Alabama Denies It is Ignoring or Defying Supreme Court Ruling to Draw Second Majority Black Congressional District

September 21, 2023, 5:48 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

With this filing, we can expect a Supreme Court ruling any time. (Docket) I expect the Supreme Court to reject Alabama’s petition given (what I view) as the state’s ignoring or defying of the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling… Continue reading

“Republicans win a temporary freeze in New York’s redistricting fight”

September 19, 2023, 10:28 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: Republicans won a preliminary round in latest legal fight over New York’s congressional districts: The state’s top court Tuesday declined to force a mapmaking commission to immediately start drafting new lines. The maps drawn in 2022 were tossed when… Continue reading

“Moore and Partisan Gerrymandering”

September 18, 2023, 7:38 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Manoj Mate has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article examines the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Moore v. Harper on state partisan gerrymandering. Moore rejected the independent state legislature theory in affirming… Continue reading

Justice Thomas Asks for Response from Voting Rights Plaintiffs by Sept. 19 in Alabama’s Emergency Motion to Avoid Creating Second Black Opportunity District for Congress

September 13, 2023, 7:07 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Docket.

“Wisconsin’s Democratic governor rejects GOP’s surprise redistricting plan”

September 13, 2023, 6:52 amredistrictingRick Hasen

AP: Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers shot down as “bogus” a surprise plan Republicans floated Tuesday that would have the Legislature approve new maps drawn by nonpartisan staff, preempting the state Supreme Court from tossing the current GOP-drawn boundaries. The… Continue reading

“How the Supreme Court Should Respond to Alabama’s Defiance”

September 12, 2023, 10:22 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Kate Shaw for the NYT: Alabama’s appeal confronts the Supreme Court with a profound test. The case may appear to involve a set of technical questions about one state’s legislative map. But it is more fundamentally about whether the Supreme… Continue reading

“Alabama Asks Supreme Court to Revisit Dispute Over Congressional Map”

September 12, 2023, 7:44 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: Alabama filed an emergency application in the Supreme Court on Monday evening, asking the justices to keep in place for now a congressional map that a lower court had found failed to comply with orders to establish a second… Continue reading

“How a New City Council Map of L.A. Turned Into a Political Brawl”

September 11, 2023, 7:32 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: The redistricting battle in Los Angeles underscores how some big city leaders — often Democrats — have used gerrymandering for their political advantage, much the way Republican lawmakers have redrawn legislative lines to secure or expand their control over… Continue reading

“Dems inch toward House majority with recent court wins”

September 11, 2023, 7:30 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: The fundamentals of the 2024 campaign are still taking shape, but one thing is already clear: A flurry of court actions might cost Republicans the House majority. In the past nine days, state and federal judges threw out two… Continue reading

“Ohio will use same unconstitutional congressional maps in 2024, as court dismisses legal challenges”

September 7, 2023, 7:14 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: Ohio will use the same congressional districts in 2024 that it used last year, as the Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday granted the dismissal of two legal challenges to the map the court previously deemed to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered… Continue reading