Category Archives: redistricting

When will Supreme Court Further Erode Our Democracy . . . probably not until next week

June 20, 2025, 7:40 amredistricting, Voting Rights Actracial gerrymanderTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Court did not decide Louisiana v. Callais today. The case involves a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional maps. In 2023, after a federal court found Louisiana had violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to provide a… Continue reading

“NJ Justices Nix Redistricting Challenge, Draw Rare Dissent”

June 18, 2025, 3:25 pmredistrictingNJ, StatesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg “The New Jersey Supreme Court rejected a challenge to municipal political district drawing, short-circuiting litigation that could have led to a wave of redistricting lawsuits across the state. The divided court ruled that judges need not consider mathematical formulas… Continue reading

“Redistricting trial begins in North Carolina over allegations that GOP-enacted maps erode Black voting power”

June 16, 2025, 8:21 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTabatha Abu El-Haj

PBS News Plaintiffs allege “GOP legislative leaders violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution when they enacted new electoral maps.” Republicans claim the maps are a legal partisan gerrymander. “Favorable rulings for the plaintiffs could force Republicans to redraw maps… Continue reading

“White House Pushes Texas to Redistrict, Hoping to Blunt Democratic Gains”

June 10, 2025, 7:05 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump’s political team is encouraging Republican leaders in Texas to examine how House district lines in the state could be redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections to try to save the party’s endangered majority, according to people… Continue reading

Brahin, “Redistricting and the Origins of the Good Faith Presumption”

June 7, 2025, 9:02 amredistrictingDerek Muller

I’ll post some academic pieces over the weekend. First up, Leonard C. Brahin in the Barry Law Review: Evidentiary and substantive presumptions are a well-established tool that courts employ when addressing a variety of legal problems. These presumptions streamline… Continue reading

Three-judge federal panel rejects claim of racial gerrymandering in Arkansas congressional districts

June 6, 2025, 12:40 pmredistrictingDerek Muller

The decision in Christian Ministerial Alliance v. Thurston, written by Judge Stras on the Eighth Circuit and joined by two district court judges, is here.

“Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare Speaks on Redistricting Effort, Partisanship Claims”

May 31, 2025, 11:09 amelection law and constitutional law, political parties, redistrictinglocal redistricting, partisan gerrymanderJustin Levitt

A coming vote on new mid-decade maps for Tarrant County, Texas (where Ft. Worth is the county seat) has been quite controversial, with charges of racial and partisan impropriety, and likely litigation on the horizon. County Judge Tim O’Hare has… Continue reading

“Fuzzy Math: Several House districts could be redrawn before 2026 elections”

May 30, 2025, 11:10 ampolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Washington Examiner looks at some of the congressional district plans most likely to be modified over the next year.

“Alabama may pause redistricting efforts until 2030 to avoid federal oversight”

May 29, 2025, 12:52 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActpreclearanceJustin Levitt

That’s the headline of a States Newsroom piece about a Wednesday filing in Alabama’s congressional redistricting litigation. But I can’t understand why it’s warranted. It’s true that after a three-judge court’s 571-page opinion (not a typo) a few weeks ago… Continue reading

“2 lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s congressional map filed with state Supreme Court”

May 9, 2025, 7:26 amredistrictingRick Hasen

WPR: Two lawsuits have been filed asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to declare the state’s congressional map unconstitutional ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The lawsuits come roughly a month after liberals retained their majority on the court with the… Continue reading

Breaking: Three-Judge District Court Finds Alabama’s Congressional Redistricting Plan Intentionally Discriminated Against Black Voters Updated

May 8, 2025, 12:43 pmcourt decisions, redistricting, Uncategorized, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

The court’s 571-page opinion is here. This decision is on remand from the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Allen v. Milligan. This is the latest decision in the long-running Section 2 litigation against Alabama’s congressional redistricting plans. Back in… Continue reading

“Reporting Gerrymanders”

April 29, 2025, 1:10 pmelection law "humor", redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Ross Davies has written this fun article for The Green Bag. Here is the abstract: Over the past 80 years or so, maps have appeared in many (but not all) of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions involving gerrymanders. This… Continue reading

MALDEF Files Section 2 Suit Challenging Stanislaus County, California, redistricting plans

April 24, 2025, 6:58 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

The complaint is here. The press release is here: MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed a challenge to the county’s 2021 Board of Supervisors and Board of Education redistricting plans on behalf of four voters… Continue reading

Pennsylvania: “DOJ drops lawsuit against City of Hazleton”

April 23, 2025, 5:04 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

Another Section 2 case dropped by the Trump Administration. The Standard Speaker reports: The U.S. Justice Department dropped a lawsuit Monday to stop the City of Hazleton from electing council members at-large, a change that the lawsuit said would give… Continue reading