Category Archives: redistricting

Dave Wasserman: “2022 House Overview: Still a GOP Advantage, but Redistricting Looks Like a Wash”

January 5, 2022, 6:32 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Wasserman in the Cook Political Report: The surprising good news for Democrats: on the current trajectory, there will be a few more Biden-won districts after redistricting than there are now — producing a congressional map slightly less biased in… Continue reading

“Odds of Gerrymandering Grow in New York as Redistricting Panel Falters”

January 3, 2022, 3:24 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: The independent commission created to strip politics from New York’s redistricting process veered toward collapse on Monday, as the same partisan forces the panel was designed to circumvent threatened to undo it.With time running out, the panel’s Republican… Continue reading

“Detroit lawmakers plan to challenge redistricting maps over racial fairness”

January 3, 2022, 11:16 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Detroit News: A group of Detroit lawmakers said Monday they plan to file suit in the Michigan Supreme Court over redistricting maps they argue disenfranchise Black candidates and, by extension, Black voters. The congressional, state Senate and state House… Continue reading

“Minnesota mathematicians, data scientists use new technology to shape political districts”

January 3, 2022, 7:01 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Star Tribune: Political map-making requires a tedious series of adjustments, each one with the potential to disrupt the balance.Trying to evenly redistribute population among districts — required by the U.S. Constitution each decade after the census count — may mean… Continue reading

In Ohio and North Carolina, Children of Political Leaders Sit on State Supreme Court Deciding on Legality of Latest Redistricting Plans Challenged as Gerrymanders

December 31, 2021, 11:34 amconflict of interest laws, redistrictingRick Hasen

In North Carolina, Justice Phil Berger, Jr. will decide himself whether he can rule on lawsuits against his dad, a leading Republican state senator. In Ohio, Justice Pat DeWine “has chosen not to recuse himself. DeWine says he’ll hear arguments… Continue reading

“Georgia redistricting signed into law and lawsuits quickly follow”

December 31, 2021, 11:13 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AJC: Gov. Brian Kemp signed new Georgia political maps into law Thursday, finalizing Republican efforts to solidify their majorities in a rapidly changing state as opponents immediately filed three court challenges.The once-a-decade redistricting creates boundaries that give Republicans… Continue reading

“Ungerrymandered: Michigan’s Maps, Independently Drawn, Set Up Fair Fight”

December 30, 2021, 11:33 amcitizen commissions, redistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: One of the country’s most gerrymandered political maps has suddenly been replaced by one of the fairest.A decade after Michigan Republicans gave themselves seemingly impregnable majorities in the state Legislature by drawing districts that heavily favored their party,… Continue reading

“‘They know where Black voters live’: Challengers say ‘race blind’ redistricting maps are anything but”

December 29, 2021, 4:04 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

CNN: In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible… Continue reading

“Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments on GOP-drawn congressional redistricting map”

December 28, 2021, 1:20 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

The Columbus Dispatch reports.

“News Analysis: California’s political redistricting was all about defining a ‘community’”

December 28, 2021, 1:19 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

John Myers for the LAT. He’s following it up with this Twitter thread.

Can federal courts hear private litigants’ statewide partisan gerrymandering claims arising under the Freedom to Vote Act?

December 28, 2021, 7:33 amredistrictingDerek Muller

In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court held, “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.” The Court emphasized that state court or legislative solutions would remain available to reformers.… Continue reading

California Redistricting Commission Posts Final Report, Including Extensive Voting Rights Act Analysis

December 26, 2021, 11:14 amredistrictingRick Hasen

You can find it here.

“Surprisingly, there has been a redistricting turnaround”

December 26, 2021, 11:08 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Paul Waldman WaPo column: In the 2020 elections, Democrats failed to win control of any new state legislatures and saw their margin in the House of Representatives shrink by more than a dozen seats, an outcome that portended bad… Continue reading

“Michigan redistricting commission releases memos, recording from closed-door meeting”

December 21, 2021, 10:12 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Detroit Free Press: Lawyers for Michigan’s redistricting commission used a controversial closed-door meeting to label legal interpretations of federal voting requirements that urge drawing majority-minority districts inaccurate and misleading, calling on the commission not to adjust lines based on … Continue reading

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