The Guardian: US redistricting: are Republicans trying to rig the maps?

As states undertake the high-stakes, once-a-decade redistricting process, several places are testing new ways to prevent partisans from rigging the maps. The news does not sound good.

There have been heated meetings that have devolved into tears. Officials have quit and walked out of meetings in protest. A Republican governor acknowledging that his own party could be acting in an unconstitutional way.

It would be easy to conclude that reform is failing. But as I spoke to supporters of the reforms in Virginia, Ohio and Michigan over the last few months, I heard a much more nuanced story.

Yes, reformers are frustrated with the deadlock they’ve seen so far. But they also believe that despite the deadlock, things are better now than they were in previous redistricting cycles. …

But because of the reforms, the fate of the maps is likely to be decided by the Ohio supreme court, which will decide whether the plans violate a constitutional amendment prohibiting districts that “unduly favor or disfavor a party or incumbents”.

“I think it’s really easy to think, ‘We’ve had this experience. This means this doesn’t work,’” said Catherine Turcer, who works for the good government group Common Cause. But “it could be that the courts step in”. Or “it could be the reform works well in stopping bad actors who act badly”.