Latest Developments: Redistricting Reform on the Line at U.S. Supreme Court
Latest Developments: Redistricting Reform on the Line at U.S. Supreme Court
On March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, a case that could radically reshape the prospects for redistricting reform around the country.
If the Court rules that citizen ballot initiatives cannot be used to create commissions to draw congressional maps, it will return redistricting to the hands of politicians in places like California and Arizona. Moreover, it likely would dim hopes for changes to the redistricting process in places like Illinois.
Worse, an adverse decision for the Arizona commission, when combined with a possible ruling in the Alabama racial gerrymandering case, http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=78123&qid=3722857 Michael Li wrote http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=78250&qid=3722857 could signal judicial sanction of an unprecedented and troubling “freedom for politicians to manipulate maps for partisan or self-serving purposes.”
By limiting the use of ballot initiatives, the Court also would open the door to invalidating scores of other non-redistricting state laws governing federal elections, ranging from Oregon’s mail-ballot voting law to Mississippi’s photo identification law. Check out our interactive map to see these decisions' potentially far reaching consequences. http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=78124&qid=3722857
In January, the Brennan Center along with a dozen other groups filed amicus briefs supporting the constitutionality of the Arizona commission. More information on the case — including the parties’ briefs, all of the amicus briefs, and other related courts materials — can be found here. http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=78122&qid=3722857
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