President Donald J. Trump, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and Anthony M. Kennedy, retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Oct. 8, 2018, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian, Public Domain) The Supreme Court is not scheduled to convene until October 7, … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Too Partisan to Hear Landmark NRA Challenge, Democratic Senators Allege
The Roberts Court, November 30, 2018. Seated, from left to right: Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Samuel A. Alito. Standing, from left to right: Justices Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett M. Kavanaugh. (Photograph by Fred Schilling, … [Read more...]
North Carolina Court Strikes Down Republican Gerrymander
A three-judge panel in North Carolina has struck down that state's existing map of legislative districts, ruling that the maps represented an unacceptable partisan gerrymander designed to systematically advantage Republican candidates. Republican leaders in the state have said that they do not intend to appeal the ruling, meaning that it will … [Read more...]
Michigan Voted To Create an Independent Redistricting Commission. Republicans Are Suing To Destroy It.
Last year, e-mails emerged in Michigan dating back to the state's 2011 redistricting effort. With the state government totally controlled by Republicans in the aftermath of the 2010 Tea Party wave, Republicans were able to gerrymander the closely divided state to give their party a decisive advantage in the state legislature and the congressional … [Read more...]
Chief Justice Roberts Votes for Gerrymandering; Eric Holder Poses Challenge
Chief Justice John Robert’s 5-4 majority gerrymandering ruling is a key victory for Republicans, who rigged the nation’s votes in their favor in 2011, costing Democrats the 2016 election as well as the 2018 midterms in Wisconsin and are preparing to more heavily gerrymander the nation during the next round of redistricting in 2021. Roberts … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Rejects Limits to Partisan Gerrymandering
According to Reuters, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected efforts to the practice of manipulating electoral district boundaries to entrench one party in power by turning away challenges to political maps in Maryland and North Carolina. The justices ruled in a decision with nationwide implications that judges do not have the ability to … [Read more...]
Michigan Congressional Map Gerrymandered
On Thursday federal judges threw out Michigan’s congressional and state legislative maps, calling them unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. Politico reports that the case is on hold till the outcome of cases already pending at the Supreme Court which will likely determine whether Michigan redraws its districts before the 2020 election. A … [Read more...]
House Democrats Move on Sweeping Legislation to Reform American Elections
When Democrats won their smashing victory in the 2018 midterms, they did so in the face of a wave of GOP-led voter suppression efforts. Those schemes certainly weren't new – Republicans across the country have fought to restrict access to the ballot for years, knowing that it's often their easiest path to remaining in power. Democrats, however, … [Read more...]
Two Partisan Gerrymandering Cases to Go Before Supreme Court in March
For decades, advocates and attorneys have begged the Supreme Court to finally rule on partisan gerrymandering. But while the court has occasionally indicated that there could be a gerrymander so extreme it fails to pass constitutional muster, the justices have so far declined to weigh in decisively on the issue. That will change this March, … [Read more...]
New Jersey Democrats Withdraw Gerrymandering Plan After Outraged Response
The national conversation over gerrymandering usually focuses on Republicans, especially in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina, where the state Republican Parties used a fortuitously timed 2010 wave to entrench their power in what are actually very competitive states. Obviously, this is not because Democratic politicians are so virtuous … [Read more...]
