Nick Corasaniti and Reid J. Epstein at the NY Times

“Partisan gerrymandering is as old as the republic, but good-government experts thought they had hit on a solution with independent commissions, advisory groups and outside panels. Taking the map-drawing process out of the hands of lawmakers under pressure to win elections, the thinking went, would make American democracy more fair.

But as this year’s once-in-a-decade redistricting process descends into trench warfare, both Republicans and Democrats have been throwing grenades at the independent experts caught in the middle.”

Partisanship has hobbled commissions in Virginia, Washington, and Ohio. Even Michigan and Arizona’s truly independent commissions are fending off partisan pressures.