Category Archives: redistricting

“Prominent Republicans Urge Supreme Court to End Gerrymandering”

September 6, 2017, 7:27 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: Breaking ranks with many of their fellow Republicans, a group of prominent politicians filed briefs on Tuesday urging the Supreme Court to rule that extreme political gerrymandering — the drawing of voting districts to give… Continue reading

“Reapportionment, Nonapportionment, and Recovering Some Lost History of One-Person, One Vote”

September 6, 2017, 7:22 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Pam Karlan has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, William and Mary Law Review). Here is the abstract: The Constitution requires a decennial “Enumeration” of the U.S. population, following which seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned among the… Continue reading

Lots of Amicus Briefs in Gill v. Whitford, the WI Partisan Gerrymandering Case

September 5, 2017, 3:51 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Via the Brennan Center, here are a number of interesting amicus briefs filed today supporting the challengers to Wisconsin’s redistricting (there are still more briefs coming—update: more posted here): Heather K. Gerken, Jonathan N. Katz, Gary King, Larry … Continue reading

Plaintiffs File #SCOTUS Opposition to Texas Stay Request in Congressional Redistricting Case

September 5, 2017, 9:32 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Read it here.

ELB Podcast Episode 18. Eric McGhee and Nick Stephanopoulos: Whitford, the Efficiency Gap, and the Future of Partisan Gerrymandering

September 5, 2017, 7:17 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Is the Supreme Court ready to finally rein in partisan gerrymandering? Can social science give us a manageable standard to decide when there’s too much politics in redistricting? Is the “efficiency gap” Justice Kennedy’s holy grail? On Episode 18 of… Continue reading

Sam Wang: A Manageable Federalist Approach to Partisan Gerrymandering

September 4, 2017, 10:43 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Sam Wang: Next month, the Supreme Court will hear Gill v. Whitford, concerning a partisan gerrymander of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Can the Court set a standard to limit this offense without opening… Continue reading

“David Daley: Sen. Flake is right about dangers of gerrymandering Congressional districts”

September 3, 2017, 9:54 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Arizona Daily Star oped: What’s gone less noticed, however, is that Flake – and a growing chorus of Republicans – have begun calling for reform of the very mechanism that helped give rise to Trump and ensured the Republican dominance… Continue reading

As He Did With Texas Congress Case, Justice Alito Stays TX House Redistricting Pending Full SCOTUS Review of Stay

August 31, 2017, 5:23 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Order (via Texas Tribune). As with the congressional stay order, don’t read too much into this temporary stay.

“North Carolina redistricting maps OK’d, head to judges next”

August 30, 2017, 3:07 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

AP: North Carolina legislators finished redrawing House and Senate district maps Wednesday, beating a court-ordered deadline later this week. Now Republicans who drew them must see whether federal judges agree they’ve cured problems with racial bias in the previous maps.… Continue reading

Gerken, Katz, King, Sabato and Wang Amicus Brief in WI Partisan Gerrymandering Case Pushes Symmetry Standard

August 30, 2017, 2:25 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Read it here.

“Judges: NC lawsuit over partisan gerrymander will proceed”

August 30, 2017, 8:32 amredistrictingRick Hasen

WRAL: A federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s congressional districts will move forward, a panel of federal judges decided Tuesday, instead of being put on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court tackles issues relevant to the case. Common Cause v.… Continue reading

“Republican NC senator, facing a new district, says he’s not running in 2018”

August 30, 2017, 8:25 amredistrictingRick Hasen

The News and Observer reports.

“The New Front in the Gerrymandering Wars: Democracy vs. Math”

August 29, 2017, 7:18 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Emily Bazelon for NYT Magazine: The Republicans tried hard to keep the mapmaking process a secret. But they weren’t successful. In the first of two lawsuits brought by Democratic voters, three federal judges berated Republican leaders in 2012 for ‘‘flailing… Continue reading