Gerrymander Gazette: Court orders are myths(?) edition
08.19.2022
August 19, 2022
There’s more action on the litigation front in the states as we await some huge cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. You can learn about these upcoming cases on Thursday, September 22 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm ET. Fair Representation in Redistricting, State Infrastructure Fund, and Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation will host “Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court Cases: what they could mean for redistricting and voting rights.” Learn more and register here.
Check out the latest news below.
National News
- WBUR and the San Diego Union-Tribune do deep-dives on Moore v. Harper, the case in which North Carolina legislators are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit state courts from providing any protections against the gerrymandering of congressional districts.
- Redistricting could loom large in this year’s state supreme court races. Check out Politico’s spotlight on Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
- Jane Mayer writes in The New Yorker about how gerrymandering and politicians’ contempt for voter-approved reform has allowed extremist politics to infect Ohio. Speaking of politicians’ contempt for voter-approved reform, Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp called the Ohio Supreme Court’s deadline for drawing a new congressional map a “myth” after the court struck down the state’s map for the third time.
- The libertarian magazine Reason looks at how gerrymandering kills competition in congressional races.
State News
- A debate is brewing in New York over who should redraw the state’s Assembly districts after New York’s highest court struck the map down as unconstitutional. Plaintiffs in the partisan gerrymandering case argue that a court-appointed special master should take on the task. The Assembly Speaker argues that the state’s advisory redistricting commission, who deadlocked in January and failed to approve a map, should be given the power to do so.
- A new lawsuit claims that Washington’s redistricting commission violated the state’s Public Records Act by intentionally withholding text messages that the plaintiff calls “politically damning.” Unlike redistricting commissions created more recently, Washington’s allows elected officials to directly appoint members with limited screening and minimal conflict of interest restrictions.
- Amid allegations of intentional discrimination against people of color in Texas, a federal judge ordered Governor Greg Abbott to turn over more documents related to redistricting.
- Our friends at One Virginia 2021 relaunched with a new name and a new mission. UpVote Virginia will focus on broader democracy reform, with a special emphasis on ranked choice voting.
This newsletter has been produced by Common Cause and compiled by Dan Vicuna. Subscribe to the Gerrymander Gazette here. For more information or to pass along news, contact Dan Vicuna.