Encouraging that they are doing this, 5-4 decision. And yes it goes both ways, I hate gerrymandering generally. it creates more partisanship because most of the districts are safe, and disenfranchises groups where it happens. But maybe this sends a message to other states. Supreme Court orders voting maps redrawn in Alabama | CNN Politics
Great timing. They made sure that the districts were in place for the last election, along with a few others, which created the House majority. I look forward to Steve Vladeck's break down. Finally started his book, which is great
And depending upon the reasoning, which will require analysis, this could also be applicable to Florida. Remember that DeSantis went extra racist, even over the Florida legislature, last time to knock out an extra minority seat which, at least from the headline, should also be illegal under this ruling
I hate gerrymandering as well. I still am a proponent of having a computer draw the maps with the only data being the addresses of citizens, not the color of their skin, political affiliation, sex, or any other characteristic. My idea is the computer minimizes the total circumference of all the districts in the state.
Absolutely shocked. This is also a huge setback to DeSantis's arguments against the Fair District Amendments. DeSantis, Republicans win round in Florida congressional redistricting fight
I have to say, based upon quick high-level read, I agree with Alito and disagree with Robert's majority opinion, at least in terms of application of Court's precedents. Roberts says that this is a matter of faithfully applying the prior precedents but it seems to run directly afoul of his prior specious reasoning, which completely ignored the text of the 15th Amendment and created a new species of federalism unknown and undecipherable from the Constitutional text. I think Alito is correct that there prior precedent should allow them to continue to ignore the 15th Amendment as if it did not exist. I suspect Sam is angry at the perceived impact of pressure on the courts. Make no mistake, the prior precedents that Sam is relying upon are completely indefensible and cannot be squared with the straightforward language of the 15th Amendment. But that never stopped them before.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...mmer-solved-gerrymandering-in-his-spare-time/ Look at some of the examples in this article. I think the bottom one is much better than the top one.
I wouldn't be surprised if this forces Louisiana to add a district based in New Orleans and a district based in Baton Rouge. As it is now, the state took areas with heavier black populations of both cities and linked them with a narrow strip that goes straight up the river to make a Democratic vote sink. Louisiana has fewer districts, but a higher proportion of black voters.
There are various nonpartisan criteria that also must be considered and complicate matters a bit https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11618
Why is that better? It looks prettier, but it doesn't speak to whether it actually is a superior map. It's going to have a sizable impact. Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and potentially Florida and Texas will have to redraw maps. There may be more states.
Indeed, such a system should give us pause, as it raises the possibility of the algorithm falling into the hands of special interest parties. However, it should be noted that the current system openly gives the entire decision to special interest parties. I think gerrymandering is one of the most issues we need to address. I could never think of rule by which to do it, but @OklahomaGator’s idea of minimizing circumference is an interesting one. We could also have a decision making body that includes members of the major parties. While neither of those seem like perfect ways to guard the henhouse, they both seem to me to be superior to the current system of asking the wolves to do it.
Efficiency gap is the proposed discernible standard. Not accepted by USSC https://www.brennancenter.org/sites...ork/How_the_Efficiency_Gap_Standard_Works.pdf
His optimization is “draw me the prettiest map”. I guess it’s better than a political party that’s optimization says “draw me the map that gives me the most control”. But only just. The most “free market” one would be “draw me the map that makes the most competitive districts”. That would eliminate a lot of clowns in “safe” seats.
What is your definition of a good map? My definition would be one that doesn't give either party an advantage in that district. When you only look at population and disregard race, religion, sex, and other factors it makes for fairer districts.
