Category Archives: redistricting

Designing Competitive Redistricting Maps: Part I

July 26, 2021, 6:07 amredistricting, UncategorizedRichard Pildes

Colorado’s congressional districts are being drawn by an independent redistricting commission created in 2018 by “Amendment Y,” a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that voters approved. That amendment also specifies the criteria the commission is to use. After specifying that districts… Continue reading

State-Districts Competitiveness Gap

July 25, 2021, 3:52 pmredistrictingNed Foley

Axios has a report on a data project that Election Law at Ohio State (ELOSU) is pursuing. The idea is to compare how competitive the House districts in a state are as a group versus the competitiveness of the state… Continue reading

The latest on battle for electoral reform

July 22, 2021, 7:32 pmelection subversion risk, redistrictingNed Foley

NY Times reports on the divide among Democrats. I continue to believe that the short-term strategy should be a stand-alone bill focused solely on combatting partisan gerrymandering, to test the possibility of getting 60 votes in the Senate. If there… Continue reading

House Hardball, part 2

July 22, 2021, 12:00 pmredistricting, UncategorizedgerrymanderingNed Foley

Nick Stephanopoulos makes some fair points in response to my post on whether, in the absence of a new Act of Congress, the House can or should refuse to seat winning candidates solely on the ground that their districts were… Continue reading

Report on the Georgia hearing; what’s next?

July 19, 2021, 7:39 pmelection subversion risk, redistricting, voting, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

Washington Post summarizes. Given the Republican non-participation, this doesn’t sound like an effective strategy to overcome a filibuster. USA Today reports that Senate Democrats, essentially abandoning S1, will turn instead to VRA reform “this autumn”; if true, this presumably… Continue reading

NJ redistricting: 13 is an unlucky number this time

July 19, 2021, 12:18 pmpolitical parties, political polarization, redistrictingNed Foley

“This is the first time the two parties haven’t agreed on a 13th member for congressional redistricting.” That, for me, is the key quote from this report on the need for the state’s Supreme Court to pick the thirteenth member… Continue reading

Deep dive on Arizona redistricting this cycle

July 19, 2021, 8:07 amredistrictingNed Foley

From Carrie Levine at the Center for Public Integrity.

Good morning. Georgia on my mind.

July 19, 2021, 6:22 amelection administration, redistricting, voting, Voting Rights ActSenateNed Foley

Thanks, Dan, we so miss you at Ohio State, but are glad to reconnect whenever there’s an opportunity. Thanks, Rick, for this opportunity to join the ELB blogging team. As I start, the Senate Rules Committee hearing today is top… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Supreme Court for now reinstates redistricting lawyers for Republican legislators”

July 17, 2021, 6:28 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on opening salvos in the long battles to come: The Wisconsin Supreme Court for the time being reinstated the redistricting attorneys for Republican state lawmakers late Thursday in a decision that divided the justices… Continue reading

“By the numbers: Voting, redistricting wars fought in least-white states”

July 14, 2021, 12:44 pmredistrictingDan Tokaji

Axios: “Texas, Georgia, Florida and Arizona have been at the center of a partisan war over voting rules that could impact voters of color — they’re also among the top 10 states with the lowest percentage of white residents.”

“With Record 2020 Turnout, Youth Activists Turn Their Energy To 2021 Redistricting”

July 13, 2021, 5:25 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

NPR: Across the country, the once-a-decade mapmaking process known as redistricting is about to get underway. In Georgia, when state lawmakers held their first virtual town hall seeking public feedback on the process, several commenters stood out amidst the… Continue reading

Nationwide preclearance for congressional elections

July 8, 2021, 1:25 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

For my inaugural post as part of ELB’s new format (and I’m honored to be on board–thanks, Rick), here’s a new Washington Post column. Given Brnovich, it proposes nationwide preclearance but limited to congressional elections as a way to… Continue reading

“Lawsuit Seeks Three-in-a-Row Elections for Virginia House of Delegates”

July 7, 2021, 6:45 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

NPR: Candidates for Virginia’s House of Delegates could face three-in-a-row elections from 2021 to 2023 if judges agree with a lawsuit filed in federal court last week.The complaint from Richmond attorney Paul Goldman argues the state would violate portion… Continue reading

Analysis of the federal court challenge to Illinois’s redistricting plan

July 6, 2021, 5:45 amcensus litigation, redistrictingDerek Muller

Dean Vik Amar and Professor Jason Mazzone, both of the University of Illinois, have a two part series (one, two) at Justia’s “Verdict” on McConchie v. Illinois State Board of Elections, a challenge to Illinois’s redistricting … Continue reading