Category Archives: redistricting

“Make Democracy Count: The Harmful Impact of Partisan Gerrymandering on Voters and Our Democracy”

August 10, 2016, 8:24 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Release: The Campaign Legal Center, which is litigating the landmark case Whitford v. Gill to end partisan gerrymandering, today released a report, Make Democracy Count: Ending Partisan Gerrymandering. The report highlights the impact partisan gerrymandering, or the drawing… Continue reading

Daily Show on Donald Trump’s “Rigging Election” Comments

August 9, 2016, 8:50 pmchicanery, election law "humor", redistricting, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Watch.

“Fed Court Rules Wake County Must Use 2011 Voting Maps in November Elections”

August 9, 2016, 8:26 amredistrictingRick Hasen

ABC 11 reports, and posts the judge’s opinion.

“Common Cause suit challenges partisan gerrymandering in NC”

August 5, 2016, 10:33 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Charlotte Observer. They’ll have to get in line. There’s already a partisan gerrymandering claim from NC pending in an appeal at the Supreme Court, and ongoing partisan gerrymandering litigation in Wisconsin and Maryland. All in an effort to shape… Continue reading

Plaintiffs Challenging NC Redistricting Go to #SCOTUS Claiming Partisan Gerrymander

August 3, 2016, 2:28 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here is the jurisdictional statement in Harris v. McCrory. I believe this is the first case raising issues of partisan gerrymandering to make it to the Supreme Court since Justice Scalia’s passing. Will they touch it? I don’t know. One… Continue reading

Litigants to TX Redistricting 3-Judge Court: We are BEGGING You for a Decision

July 29, 2016, 11:17 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Closing arguments were almost two years ago. Disgraceful. (I have my suspicions about what’s going on, but let’s wait until the opinion actually issues (if it is not mooted by the 2020 round of redistricting.).)

“Due Process, Fair Play, and Excessive Partisanship: A New Principle for Judicial Review of Election Laws”

July 29, 2016, 7:55 amelection administration, redistricting, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

This looks to be an important new draft from Ned Foley. Here is the abstract: American democracy is plagued by excessive partisanship, and yet constitutional law thus far has been incapable of redressing this ill. Gerrymandering is one clear example:… Continue reading

“Senators in contempt over secret emails get day before Supreme Court of Virginia”

July 20, 2016, 8:20 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Daily Press: A case that could recalibrate what documents state legislators can keep secret was heard Tuesday in the Supreme Court of Virginia. Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections is primarily a redistricting case, brought to challenge 11… Continue reading

“The Wrong Way to Count Prisoners”

July 16, 2016, 10:27 amfelon voting, redistrictingRick Hasen

NYT editorial: Voting rights advocates have been pressing the Census Bureau for more than a decade to stop counting prison inmates as “residents” of prisons — where they typically remain for only a short time — instead of the communities… Continue reading

Two Big Election Law Decisions Out of Texas are Pending…..And More from Other States

July 10, 2016, 1:45 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

The federal challenge to Texas’s strict voter identification law is pending before the entire Fifth Circuit sitting en banc. The Supreme Court set a soft July 20 deadline for a decision—after that the Court has invited plaintiffs to seek immediate… Continue reading

Justice Ginsburg’s First Draft in Evenwel Said Use of Total Population, Rather Than Voters, Required and Not Just Permitted

July 8, 2016, 8:48 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

From RBG’s must-read interview with AP’s Mark Sherman: Ginsburg was pleased with her majority opinion in yet another case from Texas in which the court upheld the state’s decision to count everyone, and not just eligible voters, in drawing its… Continue reading

“Free Webinar July 12: Supreme Court Redistricting Cases”

July 5, 2016, 11:11 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Lisa Sorenen blogs about a webinar. I’m one of the speakers.

4th Cir. Finds One Person, One Vote Violation in Wake County, NC

July 1, 2016, 8:06 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

The opinion in Raleigh Wake Citizens Association v. Wake Co. Board of Elections is here. The court applies the standard from Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission for deviations under 10%, finding it “more probable than not that the… Continue reading

Wice on 2020 Census Residence Criteria

June 30, 2016, 7:56 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

Jeff Wice writes at New York Election News: Of major importance is a change to the way prison population are reported. After the 2010 census, New York, Maryland and Delaware enacted laws to reassign prisoner populations to “homes of… Continue reading