Battles to Shape Maps, and Congress, Go to Courts
By MICHAEL COOPER and JENNIFER MEDINA
NYT
The once-a-decade process of redrawing Congressional districts is moving from the smoke-filled back room to the courtroom. Lawsuits related to redistricting have been filed in more than half the states, asking judges to decide issues that include whether the new maps take partisan gerrymandering too far or discriminate against minority voters.
In some states, courts are being asked to draw the new maps themselves. Courts have begun the process in Nevada, where the Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, vetoed maps drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and in Minnesota, where the Democratic governor, Mark Dayton, vetoed maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Courts are also taking the lead in Colorado and New Mexico, where legislatures were unable to reach agreements on what the new maps should look like.
States that have drawn new districts are already facing a flurry of legal challenges, giving the courts, once again, a major role in drawing districts that could help determine the balance of power in Congress for the next decade. The maps that many states have drawn so far are expected to help Republicans maintain the gains they made in the 2010 elections, largely by allowing them to tweak the boundaries to make politically mixed districts lean more toward Republicans.
New maps favoring Democrats in Maryland and Republicans in Utah were signed into law last week, and even before the ink was dry, lawsuits were being threatened in both states. Lawsuits related to the redistricting process have already been filed in 28 states so far, said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who studies redistricting and whose Web site tracks the cases.
(More here.)
NYT
The once-a-decade process of redrawing Congressional districts is moving from the smoke-filled back room to the courtroom. Lawsuits related to redistricting have been filed in more than half the states, asking judges to decide issues that include whether the new maps take partisan gerrymandering too far or discriminate against minority voters.
In some states, courts are being asked to draw the new maps themselves. Courts have begun the process in Nevada, where the Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, vetoed maps drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and in Minnesota, where the Democratic governor, Mark Dayton, vetoed maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Courts are also taking the lead in Colorado and New Mexico, where legislatures were unable to reach agreements on what the new maps should look like.
States that have drawn new districts are already facing a flurry of legal challenges, giving the courts, once again, a major role in drawing districts that could help determine the balance of power in Congress for the next decade. The maps that many states have drawn so far are expected to help Republicans maintain the gains they made in the 2010 elections, largely by allowing them to tweak the boundaries to make politically mixed districts lean more toward Republicans.
New maps favoring Democrats in Maryland and Republicans in Utah were signed into law last week, and even before the ink was dry, lawsuits were being threatened in both states. Lawsuits related to the redistricting process have already been filed in 28 states so far, said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who studies redistricting and whose Web site tracks the cases.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home