Supreme Court May Weigh in on Partisan Gerrymandering Fight
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a temporary stay on the redrawing of legislative maps in Ohio and Michigan. Ohio’s lower court decision, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, sought to redraw 16 Congressional districts prior to the 2020 election. The…
Supreme Court Finds No Racial Gerrymandering in Abbott v. Perez, Except for One District
On June 25, 2018, the Supreme Court in Abbott v. Perez overturned the lower court’s finding that the Texas legislature had gerrymandered legislative districts against Hispanic citizens when redrawing occurred in 2013 after the lower courts struck down the districts drawn in 2011. The Court ruled that the district court…
Virginia Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds The Drawing of 11 Districts
On May 31, 2018, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that 11 legislative districts did not violate Article II § 6 of the Constitution of Virginia. The challengers to the districts argued that the legislative districts that were drawn in 2011 violated that state constitution because they were not composed of…
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in MD Gerrymandering Case:
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Benisek v. Lamone, a case where Republican voters are suing Maryland over the way that Maryland’s 6th Congressional District was redrawn in 2011. The Los Angeles Times reports that many of the justices seemed to be concerned about how the district lines…