And possibly everywhere in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The Brennan Center lays it all out:<\/p>\n
A three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court in Wisconsin issued a ruling in Whitford v. Gill, holding that Wisconsin\u2019s 2011 state assembly redistricting plan violated both the First and the Fourteenth Amendments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source: A Big Win Against Partisan Gerrymandering in Wisconsin | Brennan Center for Justice<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
As does the Times:<\/p>\n
A federal panel called the 2011 redrawing of Wisconsin Assembly districts an unconstitutional gerrymander, ruling in a case that could go to the Supreme Court.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source: Judges Find Wisconsin Redistricting Unfairly Favored Republicans – The New York Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
It has to do with a mathematical formula easy to calculate and clear enough for judges–especially Anthony Kennedy–to see.<\/p>\n
I’ve bolded some of the more exciting sentences.<\/p>\n
Federal courts have struck down gerrymanders on racial grounds, but not on grounds that they unfairly give advantage to a political party \u2014 the more common form of gerrymandering. The case could now go directly to the Supreme Court, where its fate may rest with a single justice, Anthony M. Kennedy, who has expressed a willingness to strike down partisan gerrymanders but has yet to accept a rationale for it.<\/em><\/p>\n
Should the court affirm the ruling, it could upend the next round of state redistricting, in 2021, for congressional and state elections nationwide, most of which is likely to be conducted by Republican-controlled legislatures that have swept into power in recent years.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a huge deal,\u201d said Heather Gerken, a Yale Law School professor and an expert on election law.<\/strong> \u201cFor years, everyone has waited for the Supreme Court to do something on this front. Now one of the lower courts has jump-started the debate.<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cIf this were to be a nationwide standard, 2021 would look quite different,\u201d she said, \u201cespecially for the Democrats.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Several election-law scholars said the ruling was especially significant because it offered, for the first time, a clear mathematical formula for measuring partisanship in a district, something that had been missing in previous assaults on gerrymandering.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
And possibly everywhere in the U.S. The Brennan Center lays it all out: A three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court in Wisconsin issued a ruling in Whitford v. Gill, holding that Wisconsin\u2019s 2011 state assembly redistricting plan violated both … Continue reading