The Hill: Dozens of lawsuits filed ahead of redistricting presage years of litigation

Democrats and Republicans have filed dozens of cases challenging the rules and outcomes of state redistricting processes in recent months, clogging state and federal dockets across the country with hearings and motions.

Those suits have been filed even before legislatures or independent commissions approve district lines, presaging what is likely to be years of litigation between the two sides. …

Many of the cases that are already pending seek to prepare courts for lawsuits to come as both sides lay legal groundwork. That task is becoming more pressing because the timeframe in which maps are redrawn has been compressed this cycle: The U.S. Census Bureau delivered redistricting data to states only in August, months behind initial schedule, because of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration.

“The timing has been affected by the Census Bureau’s release of data in August, which is approximately six months later than the traditional timeline,” said Kathay Feng, national redistricting director at Common Cause. “You have a few more courts that are willing to entertain a calendar for when briefs are due because they know they’re up against a tight timeline.” …

The decennial redistricting process is always a magnet for legal challenges, though this decade is likely to represent a different sort of test. The U.S. Supreme Court in recent years has struck down many of the guardrails that once hemmed in legislatures, including sections of the Voting Rights Act. A more recent case effectively barred federal courts from weighing in on questions of partisan gerrymandering, forcing those suits into state courts.

“Legislatures feel unbridled in what they’re allowed to do,” Feng said. “There were more legal constraints in past redistricting processes that have been eroded by court decisions and that sense that states can now engage in redistricting with far fewer legal constraints has allowed some to engage in very brazen gerrymandering.”