Washington state redistricting commission chair resigns
2 years, 9 months ago

Washington state redistricting commission chair resigns

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — The nonpartisan chair of Washington state’s redistricting commission has resigned, lashing out at Democratic leaders for refusing to defend the commission-drawn legislative maps from a legal challenge. Sarah Augustine announced her resignation Monday following the panel’s two Democratic commissioners voting against intervening in a federal lawsuit alleging the maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act, The Seattle Times reported. The lawsuit named three Democratic state officials as defendants: Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, state House Speaker Laurie Jinkins and state Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig. “By failing to defend the redistricting plans agreed to by consensus, state authorities have chosen to undermine the process and dismiss the compromises taken in the public interest,” Augustine, the commission’s nonvoting chair, said in a prepared statement.

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History of this topic

Judges dismiss suit alleging Tennessee’s political maps discriminate against communities of color
4 months ago

Judges dismiss suit alleging Tennessee’s political maps discriminate against communities of color

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tennessee’s U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. “But the facts are also consistent with a political gerrymander.” The complaint was the first court challenge over a 2022 congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip …

US Supreme Court sends Arkansas redistricting case back to judges after South Carolina ruling
6 months, 2 weeks ago

US Supreme Court sends Arkansas redistricting case back to judges after South Carolina ruling

Associated Press  

The Supreme Court on Monday sent a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ 2021 U.S. House map back to a three-judge panel, ordering it to review the suit in light of the high court’s decision against similar claims of bias in a redistricting case from South Carolina. A three-judge panel last year dismissed the suit, which claimed the redrawn map violated the U.S. …

Federal judge accepts redrawn Georgia congressional and legislative districts that will favor GOP
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Federal judge accepts redrawn Georgia congressional and legislative districts that will favor GOP

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A federal judge on Thursday accepted new Georgia congressional and legislative voting districts that protect Republican partisan advantages, saying the creation of new majority-Black voting districts solved the illegal minority vote dilution that led him to order maps to be redrawn. McBath said in a statement that she wouldn’t “allow an extremist few Republicans” to “decide when my …

THINGS TO KNOW: Deadline looms for new map in embattled North Dakota redistricting lawsuit
1 year ago

THINGS TO KNOW: Deadline looms for new map in embattled North Dakota redistricting lawsuit

Associated Press  

BISMARCK, N.D. — The clock is running out on a Friday deadline for North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries compliant with the Voting Rights Act for two Native American tribes who successfully sued for new lines. A federal judge last month ruled that the state’s 2021 redistricting map violates the landmark 1965 civil rights law in diluting …

New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House
1 year ago

New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House

Associated Press  

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House. “In 2014, the voters of New York amended our Constitution to provide that legislative districts be drawn by an …

DeSantis purposely dismantled a Black congressional district, attorney says as trial over map begins
1 year, 2 months ago

DeSantis purposely dismantled a Black congressional district, attorney says as trial over map begins

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On the same day Alabama Black voters scored a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal trial opened in Florida in which lawyers say Republican Gov. “He pressed his argument by sound bite bullying.” The result was a map that helped Republicans earn a majority in the House and left Black voters in north Florida with …

A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They’re still waiting for new maps
1 year, 3 months ago

A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They’re still waiting for new maps

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision siding with Black voters in an Alabama redistricting case gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprising opportunity before the 2024 elections. Shawn Donahue of the State University of New York at Buffalo, an expert on voting rights and redistricting, said the Supreme Court could put a quick end to the delays and “summarily …

DeSantis' redistricting map in Florida is unconstitutional and must be redrawn, judge says
1 year, 3 months ago

DeSantis' redistricting map in Florida is unconstitutional and must be redrawn, judge says

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution and is …

DeSantis’ redistricting map in Florida is unconstitutional and must be redrawn, judge says
1 year, 3 months ago

DeSantis’ redistricting map in Florida is unconstitutional and must be redrawn, judge says

Associated Press  

A Florida redistricting plan pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution and is prohibited from being used for any future U.S. congressional elections since it diminishes the ability of Black voters in north Florida to pick a representative of their choice, a state judge ruled Saturday. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh sent the plan back to the …

Wisconsin Republicans ask newly elected liberal justice to not hear redistricting case
1 year, 4 months ago

Wisconsin Republicans ask newly elected liberal justice to not hear redistricting case

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature asked that the newest Democratic-backed justice on the state Supreme Court recuse herself from lawsuits seeking to overturn GOP-drawn electoral maps, arguing that she has prejudged the cases. Republicans argue in their motions filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday and made public Wednesday that Justice Janet Protasiewicz can’t fairly …

Deal over Florida’s redistricting plan could lead to restoration of Black-dominant district
1 year, 4 months ago

Deal over Florida’s redistricting plan could lead to restoration of Black-dominant district

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Voting rights groups that sued state officials over a Florida redistricting plan championed by Gov. The agreement reached late last week opens the possibility that the seat will be restored to a district dominated by Black voters, depending on how a state judge rules and whether the judge’s decision survives rounds of appeals all the way to …

Lawsuit says Tennessee’s US House and state Senate maps discriminate against communities of color
1 year, 4 months ago

Lawsuit says Tennessee’s US House and state Senate maps discriminate against communities of color

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is facing its first court challenge over a congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip a seat in last year’s elections, a move that the plaintiffs say has unconstitutionally diluted the power of Black voters and other communities of color. By splintering Nashville into three Republican-majority districts that stretch into rural …

Plaintiffs in voting rights case urge judges to toss Alabama’s new congressional map
1 year, 4 months ago

Plaintiffs in voting rights case urge judges to toss Alabama’s new congressional map

Associated Press  

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Voting rights activists are returning to court to fight Alabama’s redrawn congressional districts, saying state Republicans failed to follow federal court orders to create a district that is fair to Black voters. A special three-judge panel in 2022 blocked use of the the state’s existing districts and said any new congressional map should include two districts where …

After court ruling, Alabama GOP criticized for rejecting 2nd majority-Black congressional district
1 year, 5 months ago

After court ruling, Alabama GOP criticized for rejecting 2nd majority-Black congressional district

Associated Press  

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Republicans on Tuesday advanced proposals to boost the number of Black voters in one of the state’s seven congressional districts, but critics said the plans flout a court order to create a second majority-Black district or something close to it. Republican-controlled legislative committees on Tuesday voted down proposals to create a second majority-Black district and advanced …

Supreme Court unfreezes Louisiana redistricting case that could boost Black voting power before 2024
1 year, 5 months ago

Supreme Court unfreezes Louisiana redistricting case that could boost Black voting power before 2024

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday lifted its hold on a Louisiana political remap case, increasing the likelihood that the Republican-dominated state will have to redraw boundary lines to create a second mostly Black congressional district. “What this does is it puts us back on track to realize a second majority-minority district.” In a written statement, the Louisiana Legislative …

Supreme Court to review South Carolina congressional map for discrimination against Black voters
1 year, 7 months ago

Supreme Court to review South Carolina congressional map for discrimination against Black voters

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether South Carolina’s congressional districts need to be redrawn because they discriminate against Black voters. The justices said Monday they would review a lower-court ruling that found a coastal district running from Charleston to Hilton Head was intentionally redrawn to reduce the number of Democratic-leaning Black voters and to make it …

Group: N.C. request for redistricting rehearing ‘frivolous’
1 year, 10 months ago

Group: N.C. request for redistricting rehearing ‘frivolous’

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — An advocacy group that sued over redistricting lines in North Carolina told state Supreme Court justices Monday that previous rulings that blocked legislative and congressional district maps as illegal partisan gerrymanders should be left intact. Common Cause filed a response to Republican General Assembly leaders’ request earlier this month that the state’s highest court rehear redistricting lawsuits. …

California attorney general will investigate L.A. redistricting in wake of leaked audio
2 years, 2 months ago

California attorney general will investigate L.A. redistricting in wake of leaked audio

LA Times  

Rob Bonta said Wednesday that his office would investigate the Los Angeles redistricting process that took place last fall, saying an inquiry is needed to “restore confidence” in the line-drawing of the city’s 15 council districts. Fred Ali, who was appointed by Martinez to the redistricting commission and served as its chairman, said he was “horrified” by “the racism you …

How Ron DeSantis blew up black-held congressional districts and may have broken Florida law
2 years, 2 months ago

How Ron DeSantis blew up black-held congressional districts and may have broken Florida law

Raw Story  

Ron DeSantis was incensed. Barbara Pariente, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court who retired in 2019, told ProPublica that DeSantis’ collaboration with people connected to the national GOP would constitute “significant evidence of a violation of the constitutional amendment.” “If that evidence was offered in a trial, the fact that DeSantis was getting input from someone working …

Florida appeals court reinstates DeSantis congressional map
2 years, 7 months ago

Florida appeals court reinstates DeSantis congressional map

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A new congressional map drawn by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ staff that could diminish the state’s Black representation in Washington was reinstated by an appeals court Friday, a week after a lower court judge said the map was unconstitutional. “To avoid uncertainty and confusion in the upcoming 2022 primary and general elections, it’s important to move …

Judge declines to toss New York Assembly redistricting maps
2 years, 7 months ago

Judge declines to toss New York Assembly redistricting maps

Associated Press  

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York judge refused Wednesday to throw out new political maps setting the boundaries of state Assembly districts, saying even though they were drafted improperly, opponents had waited too long to join the lawsuit challenging them in court. Previous court rulings struck down the party’s favored new maps for state Senate and U.S. House districts as …

Task of drawing NY political maps falls to judge and scholar
2 years, 7 months ago

Task of drawing NY political maps falls to judge and scholar

Associated Press  

ALBANY, N.Y. — After New York’s highest court threw out new congressional district maps drawn by the state Legislature, the task of redrawing them has fallen to a rural judge and a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. Democrats’ hopes of crafting an electoral map heavily favorable to their party suffered a big blow Wednesday when the state Court of Appeals …

Maryland judge defers decision on new congressional map
2 years, 8 months ago

Maryland judge defers decision on new congressional map

Associated Press  

— A Maryland judge on Friday deferred a decision about the state’s newly redrawn congressional map, noting at a hearing that her ruling striking down the previous map is being appealed by the attorney general’s office to the state’s highest court. Battaglia gave an update on the Maryland case at a court hearing she scheduled after she ruled that the …

Judge rejects New York’s redistricting plan, orders new maps
2 years, 8 months ago

Judge rejects New York’s redistricting plan, orders new maps

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A lower-court judge declared New York’s new congressional and legislative district maps unconstitutional Thursday and ordered the legislature to quickly redraw them, a process that could delay the state’s fast-approaching party primaries. If the Democrat-controlled legislature can’t come up with “bipartisanly supported” maps fast the judge said he would hire his own expert to redraw them, at …

Voting groups sue, say redistricting wrongly diluted voices
2 years, 9 months ago

Voting groups sue, say redistricting wrongly diluted voices

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — Two voting-rights groups sued the state of Utah Thursday seeking to block new redistricting maps they say unfairly solidify one-party GOP control and ignore a voter-approved independent commission. The League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government say the Republican-controlled Legislature swept aside the commission’s work and wrongly carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County. …

DeSantis, lawmakers sued by groups over congressional maps
2 years, 9 months ago

DeSantis, lawmakers sued by groups over congressional maps

Associated Press  

MIAMI — Voter rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Before DeSantis proposed how to redraw the districts, the Florida Senate had passed a new congressional map in January that was “substantially compliant with the law and largely successful in protecting minority voting rights,” the complaint said. After DeSantis’ proposals, lawmakers appeared to try to please the governor, by scrapping their …

Federal judge dismisses Arkansas redistricting lawsuit
2 years, 10 months ago

Federal judge dismisses Arkansas redistricting lawsuit

Associated Press  

— A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ new state House districts after the Justice Department declined to intervene in the case. In last week’s decision, Rudofsky said groups challenging the state’s new House boundaries had a “strong merits case” but ruled that private groups couldn’t sue to claim violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. The …

Ohio redistricting process falters as panel hits ‘impasse’
2 years, 10 months ago

Ohio redistricting process falters as panel hits ‘impasse’

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission declared defeat in their attempts to redraw state legislative maps in the face of a court-set deadline Thursday. As Ohio continues to wade through a new redistricting process for the first time, it was unclear where Thursday’s decision not to act would leave the three separate lawsuits filed against the original …

Suit: South Carolina GOP chose ‘worst’ map for Black voters
2 years, 10 months ago

Suit: South Carolina GOP chose ‘worst’ map for Black voters

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Civil rights groups have added several congressional districts to a lawsuit over “racially gerrymandered” redistricting maps, accusing South Carolina Republican lawmakers in an amended lawsuit filed Thursday of unconstitutionally redrawing lines so as to disadvantage Black voters. New maps for areas including the 1st, 2nd and 5th Congressional Districts are based on state bills that “represent the …

Group files lawsuit against new state legislative districts
2 years, 10 months ago

Group files lawsuit against new state legislative districts

Associated Press  

— A lawsuit has been filed against Maryland’s new state legislative map, a group announced Thursday. Fair Maps Maryland said a new petition filed in the Maryland Court of Appeals is challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new legislative redistricting map, which was passed by the General Assembly last month. A similar challenge was filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit …

Ohio Supreme Court again scraps GOP-drawn Statehouse maps
2 years, 10 months ago

Ohio Supreme Court again scraps GOP-drawn Statehouse maps

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday rejected a second set of Ohio Statehouse district maps that retained strong Republican majorities as gerrymandered — and sent them back for a third try. In yet another 4-3 ruling, the high court found the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission’s second attempt at drawing the maps had again failed to pass constitutional …

Lawsuit says new majority Latino district in WA a ‘facade’
2 years, 11 months ago

Lawsuit says new majority Latino district in WA a ‘facade’

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — A Latino civil rights organization and others filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday that says new political maps in Washington state approved by a bipartisan redistricting panel intentionally dilute Hispanic voters’ influence. But the lawsuit filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and others says the new voting area is a “facade” of a majority-minority district …

News Analysis: California’s political redistricting was all about defining a ‘community’
2 years, 11 months ago

News Analysis: California’s political redistricting was all about defining a ‘community’

LA Times  

Even when redistricting is removed from the hands of legislators, subjective decisions must still be made. “Adding communities of interest as one of the criteria,” McGhee said, “was a way of providing extra protection for racial and ethnic minorities.” Unlike the Voting Rights Act — in which the legal standard involves proving the existence of racially polarized voting patterns that …

California redistricting commission defends new state maps
2 years, 11 months ago

California redistricting commission defends new state maps

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Members of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission defended their months of sometimes chaotic work Monday as they handed off the completed maps that, barring successful court challenges, will govern congressional and legislative elections for the next 10 years. The maps they formally presented to California’s top elections official, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, form new jigsaw puzzles …

Criticism resumes of proposed redistricting maps in Virginia
3 years ago

Criticism resumes of proposed redistricting maps in Virginia

Associated Press  

RICHMOND, Va. — Some residents and politicians criticized proposed redistricting maps for Virginia on Friday, telling the state’s Supreme Court that many communities would see their voting strength diluted by seemingly arbitrary political boundaries. Virginia’s Supreme Court is redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps after a new bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on maps earlier this year. Maurice …

Justice Department sues Texas over new redistricting maps
3 years ago

Justice Department sues Texas over new redistricting maps

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department sued Texas on Monday over its new redistricting maps, saying the plans discriminate against minority voters, particularly Latinos, who have fueled the state’s population boom. “Decade after decade, courts have found that Texas has enacted redistricting plans that deliberately dilute the voting strength of Latino and Black voters and that violate the Voting Rights …

Washington state panel fails to draw new political maps
3 years, 1 month ago

Washington state panel fails to draw new political maps

Associated Press  

SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington state’s bipartisan redistricting commission failed to meet its deadline for redrawing political maps, meaning the task will now be taken up by the state Supreme Court. “Last night, after substantial work marked by mutual respect and dedication to the important task, the four voting commissioners on the state redistricting commission were unable to adopt a districting …

Montana commission finalizes congressional district lines
3 years, 1 month ago

Montana commission finalizes congressional district lines

Associated Press  

— Montana’s redistricting commission chair selected on Thursday a congressional district map proposed by Republicans, dealing a blow to Democrats who hoped to craft a western district that would give them a better chance of winning. Chair Maylinn Smith, who was appointed to the commission by the state’s Supreme Court, chose a map dividing the state into eastern and western …

Voting rights advocates sue Texas again over GOP-drawn maps
3 years, 1 month ago

Voting rights advocates sue Texas again over GOP-drawn maps

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — Voting rights advocates are suing Texas again, this time with support from a former U.S. attorney general, over the state’s newly redrawn congressional district maps that favor the GOP, claiming the maps dilute the vote of communities of color after growth in America’s largest red state was overwhelmingly Hispanic, Black and Asian American people. The latest lawsuit …

National Democratic group defends Oregon’s congressional map
3 years, 2 months ago

National Democratic group defends Oregon’s congressional map

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s new congressional districts are receiving national attention as a Democratic group pushes back against Republican claims that the state’s political boundaries are gerrymandered. With the filing, the NDRC is seeking to insert itself into a fight that began last week, when former Secretary of State Bev Clarno and three other Republicans sued to challenge the map, …

GOP’s Ohio legislative maps hit with 2nd lawsuit in 2 days
3 years, 2 months ago

GOP’s Ohio legislative maps hit with 2nd lawsuit in 2 days

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s newly drawn legislative district maps were hit Friday with the second lawsuit in two days that alleges Republican gerrymandering that violated the state constitution. The lawsuit, filed in the Ohio Supreme Court by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee’s legal arm on behalf of a group of Ohio voters, challenges maps of Ohio House and Ohio Senate …

Conservatives file redistricting lawsuit in Wisconsin
3 years, 4 months ago

Conservatives file redistricting lawsuit in Wisconsin

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A conservative group filed a redistricting lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday, an action that comes after Democrats filed their own legal challenge in federal court less than two weeks ago. Democrats and the advocacy groups are asking the federal courts to handle the drawing of new maps, while the lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin …

Republicans approve attempt to intervene in redistricting
3 years, 4 months ago

Republicans approve attempt to intervene in redistricting

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Republican legislative leaders voted Tuesday to hire attorneys and attempt to intervene in a federal lawsuit brought by Democrats that seeks to throw out the state’s current congressional and legislative district boundaries and not have them be the basis for drawing new maps. The Legislature’s GOP-controlled Joint Committee on Legislative Organization voted 6-4, with all Republicans in …

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