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Jump to: 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020;
-- 2016 --
December 27: Electoral integrity in all 50 US states, ranked by experts
... the issue of gerrymandered district boundaries, regarded by experts as the worst aspect of US voting procedures, was never seriously debated during the campaign. The practice ensures that representatives are returned time and again based on mobilizing the party faithful, without having to appeal more broadly to constituents across the aisle, which in turn exacerbates the bitter partisanship that plagues American politics.
https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2016/12/24/14074762/electoral-integrity-states-gerrymandering-voter-id
-- 2017 --
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January 20: Can gerrymandering explain Trump's victory in the 2016 US Presidential Election?
https://www.quora.com/Can-gerrymandering-explain-Trumps-victory-in-the-2016-US-Presidential-Election
January 31: Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Is Payoff to the Religious Right
Judge Neil Gorsuch is enthusiastically pro-life and conservative on all other issues near and dear to evangelicals who held their noses and elected Trump.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-supreme-court-pick-is-payoff-to-the-religious-right
March 1: Barack Obama Is Returning to Politics to Address Gerrymandering
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/barack-obama-is-returning-to-politics-to-address-gerrymandering
May 19: How GOP gerrymandering is protecting Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/05/19/how-gop-gerrymandering-is-protecting-trump/?utm_term=.a29b3ee3f1bb
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June 25: AP analysis shows how gerrymandering benefited GOP in 2016
The analysis found four times as many states with Republican-skewed state House or Assembly districts than Democratic ones
https://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/25/gerrymandering-2016-election/
July 15: Rep. Martha McSally reveals her uncomfortable position in the Trump era ... She complained about gerrymandering in Arizona, saying her district is one of the only competitive districts in the state, and noting that Tucson Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva doesn’t have to worry about a Republican taking his seat.
“The Republicans are never going to take him out of his district because this district is like a (Democrat) plus fifty district right now. This is not an option.”
She acknowledged that Republicans have strongholds in other districts, specifically pointing to Reps. Trent Franks and David Schweikert.
http://tucson.com/news/rep-martha-mcsally-reveals-her-uncomfortable-position-in-the-trump/article_1042e745-1256-5125-b052-a1cb411be614.html
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July 17:
decade, states will be strapped for funding in these areas.
And that is likely to happen if Republicans in Congress get their way. Under cover of the non-stop Trump circus, they are quietly working behind the scenes to ensure that the 2020 census fails – and fails to their advantage.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/why-republicans-want-the-2020-census-to-fail-w492666
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August 7: The Congressional Map Has A Record-Setting Bias Against Democrats ... And it’s not just 2018.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-congressional-map-is-historically-biased-toward-the-gop/
August 15: Justice Kennedy will take centre stage during the Supreme Court’s upcoming term
Disputes over gerrymandering, gay rights and Donald Trump’s travel ban may hinge on his vote
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/08/swing-time
August 16: Court Rules Texas Gerrymandering Discriminatory (Again)
https://americasvoice.org/blog/court-rules-texas-gerrymandering-discriminatory/
September 19: Momentum Builds Against Gerrymandering. In the past month some Republicans have broken ranks — from Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — to speak out about the breakdown in national politics mostly caused by GOP gerrymandering of congressional districts.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2017/09/19/momentum_builds_against_gerrymandering_421339.html
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September 19: Former solicitor general: We tolerate partisan lawmakers, so why not partisan gerrymandering?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/former-solicitor-general-we-tolerate-partisan-lawmakers-so-why-not-partisan-gerrymandering/article/2634956
October 3: In a case from Wisconsin that could reshape the way American elections are conducted, the Supreme Court heard from challengers that it was the “only institution in the United States” that could prevent a coming wave of extreme partisan gerrymandering that would distort the basic structure of democracy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-takes-up-wisconsin-as-first-test-in-partisan-gerrymandering-claims/2017/10/03/4349b5de-a82a-11e7-b3aa-c0e2e1d41e38_story.html?utm_term=.fbf6a31d1147
October 4: How gerrymandering got its name
Gerrymandering is why election maps across the country can look so crazy. Politicians manipulate boundaries to favor one party or another.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/10/04/what-is-gerrymandering-expl-orig-nws.cnn
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October 27: Yes, US elections are rigged – but not in the way Donald Trump thinks
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/27/us-elections-rigged-donald-trump-gerrymandering
November 3: States Watch As Supreme Court Weighs Wisconsin Gerrymandering Case
http://wamc.org/post/states-watch-supreme-court-weighs-wisconsin-gerrymandering-case
November 6: GOP to fight anti-gerrymandering ballot proposal
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/06/gop-fight-anti-gerrymandering-group/107392690/
November 16: Once again, Michigan Dems receive more votes in the State House, but Republicans hold onto power
In 2014 and 2016, Democrats received more votes or nearly split the tally in the State House races, yet Republicans hold a huge 63-47 majority and push a deeply conservative agenda that a majority of voters don't want.
How could that be? That's classic gerrymandering.
https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/once-again-michigan-dems-receive-more-votes-in-the-state-house-but-republicans-hold-onto-power/Content?oid=2472685
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November 17: Wisconsin awaits Supreme Court's ruling in gerrymandering case
http://www.htrnews.com/story/opinion/2017/11/17/wisconsin-eagerly-awaits-us-supreme-courts-ruling-gerrymandering-w-michael-slattery-manitowoc/874083001/
November 21: How Trump’s New Census Nominee Could Rig Future Elections
One expert says that Thomas Brunell’s appointment “signals an effort by the administration to politicize” the decennial survey.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/donald-trump-thomas-brunell-census-bureau
December 26: How to Conquer Partisan Gerrymandering
PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING has long been reviled for thwarting the will of the voters. Yet while voters are acting disgusted, the US Supreme Court has only discussed acting — declaring they have the constitutional right to fix the problem, but doing nothing.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/12/26/how-conquer-partisan-gerrymandering/MRdsgd3cx7R6MiodBFW5QI/story.html
-- 2018 --
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January 2: Trump’s Pick to Run 2020 Census Has Defended Racial Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression Laws
The census will determine redistricting and voting rights enforcement.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/trumps-pick-to-run-2020-census-has-defended-racial-gerrymandering-and-voter-suppression-laws/
January 4: Redistricting Cases Could Redefine State and U.S. Politics in 2018 ... More than a dozen cases on partisan and racial gerrymandering are winding their way through the court system. Two cases, in particular, could become two of the most important this decade.
http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-partisan-gerrymandering-redistricting-2018.html
January 4: How to Stop a Trump Supreme Court Nominee
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-to-stop-a-trump-supreme-court-nominee
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January 7: The gerrymandering cases to watch in 2018
https://www.axios.com/the-racially-charged-gerrymandering-cases-to-watch-in-2018-1515329836-bce0beaf-f75e-4ad6-a91f-55a643b0d1fd.html
January 10: Federal court voids North Carolina’s GOP-drawn congressional map for partisan gerrymandering
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/10/federal-court-voids-north-carolinas-gop-drawn-congressional-map-for-partisan-gerrymandering/?utm_term=.1bf70a563dbd
January 11: Thanks to the ruling of federal Judge James A Wynn Jr, North Carolina has joined a growing number of states in hot water over partisan gerrymandering. That may seem like dull stuff in the age of Trump, but gerrymandering is one of the oldest and most powerful tools in politics.
https://resistbot.news/gerrymandering-101-bf5df2661cfd
January 12: Supreme Court to hear Texas case on racial gerrymandering
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/12/supreme-court-texas-racial-gerrymandering-338733
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January 12: The way state legislatures draw election districts for political gain is coming to dominate the Supreme Court's docket.
The justices agreed Friday to hear two cases challenging congressional and state legislative districts in Texas, adding them to ones already pending from Wisconsin and Maryland. Other cases are brewing in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
The Texas lawsuits involve more traditional challenges to the use of race in drawing district lines, something the high court deals with perennially from states with a history of violating the 1968 Voting Rights Act. By contrast, the Wisconsin and Maryland cases allege excessive political gerrymandering -- designing districts to benefit one party over the other.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/12/supreme-court-adds-texas-election-districts-challenge-others-wisconsin-maryland/1028063001/
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January 12: Republican lawmakers are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the ruling this week that struck down North Carolina’s congressional districts – at least temporarily – and they want an answer by Jan. 22.
Phil Strach, the Raleigh-based attorney representing Republican lawmakers in the partisan gerrymandering case, stated in his 22-page request for an emergency stay on the order issued Tuesday that a three-judge panel “has used an entirely novel legal theory to hopelessly disrupt North Carolina’s upcoming congressional elections.”
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article194451309.html
January 16: The U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Texas' Partisan Gerrymandering Case
The U.S. Supreme Court announced today it won’t be hearing a challenge to the state’s political maps from the Texas Democratic Party. In a lawsuit, Democrats claimed state lawmakers drew political boundaries in 2011 in favor of Republicans.
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The Supreme Court dismissed the Democrats' appeal on the grounds their arguments weren't presented properly. Part of what justices were asked to consider is whether a lower court made a mistake by dismissing Democrats' partisan gerrymandering claims “without discovery and an evidentiary record," but the high court declined to weigh in.
“Today, the Supreme Court ruled that it does not presently have jurisdiction to hear a partisan gerrymander claim under the unique posture of this complex case," Hinojosa said. "Nonetheless, we anticipate an upcoming opportunity to continue our pursuit of justice for Texas voters."
http://kut.org/post/us-supreme-court-wont-hear-texas-partisan-gerrymandering-case
January 18: The Supreme Court has blocked a lower court's order requiring North Carolina's legislature to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries for this year's elections.
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The justices appear to have split, 7-2, in deciding to put on hold the ruling that tossed out the state's map as "an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander" in favor of Republicans. The map will likely remain in effect for the 2018 midterm elections.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/18/supreme-court-blocks-redrawing-north-carolina-congress-347950
January 22: Pennsylvania’s gerrymandered House map was just struck down — with huge implications for 2018 ... It was one of the most pro-Republican gerrymanders in the country.
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/22/16920636/pennsylvania-gerrymander-ruling-house
January 22: Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has ruled on Monday that the heavily gerrymandered districts in their state violated the commonwealth's constitution.
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One noteworthy detail regarding the gerrymandering case is that, because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found it to be in violation of the state constitution rather than the United States Constitution, the Pennsylvania Republican Party will have no recourse to the United States Supreme Court. They will be legally compelled to redraw the state's 18 congressional districts so they will have fairer boundaries.
https://www.salon.com/2018/01/22/pennsylvanias-supreme-court-just-struck-down-the-gops-gerrymandering/
January 26: The Gerrymandering Fight Heats Up
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-26/democrats-target-donald-duck-election-map-in-bid-for-congress
February 1: N.C. has the worst gerrymander in US history.
... a three-judge federal court ruled the redistricting work of the North Carolina General Assembly to be a knowing, intentional and hugely impactful violation of the U.S. Constitution. This time the court struck down the apportionment of our federal congressional districts as an impermissible, extreme, partisan political gerrymander – designed, admittedly and successfully, to entrench Republicans in power and handicap their adversaries.
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article197852639.html
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February 2: Gerrymandering and How to Fix it.
The Supreme Court announced that it will hear a second case this term to determine whether partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. In both Gill v. Whitford and Benisek v. Lamone, the state’s majority party is accused of redrawing a voting district or districts to undermine the minority party. A decision in both cases could reshape how elections are conducted.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/unpacked/2018/02/02/gerrymandering-and-how-to-fix-it/
February 5: Supreme Court declines request from Pennsylvania GOP to stop redistricting
The ruling will have massive ramifications for the 2018 midterm elections, where Republicans' control of the US House is on the line and Democrats are targeting a handful of GOP-held seats in Pennsylvania.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/05/politics/supreme-court-pennsylvania-redistricting/index.html
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February 6: GOP state lawmaker seeks to impeach judges after Pa. gerrymandering ruling
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/372655-gop-state-lawmaker-wants-to-impeach-judges-after-pennsylvania
February 13: Pennsylvania’s top court was set to lay out new congressional voting districts for the state after Democratic Governor Tom Wolf on Tuesday rejected a version drawn by Republican legislative leaders as unfairly skewed in their party’s favor.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-pennsylvania/pennsylvania-court-set-to-redraw-voting-maps-after-governor-veto-idUSKCN1FX2BM?il=0
February 20: Court releases new Pennsylvania congressional maps, could help Democrats ... in a swing state [Pennsylvania] where Republicans hold 13 House seats to Democrats' five, the balance appears all but certain to tip in Democrats' direction.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/pennsylvania-new-congressional-maps/index.html
February 20: How the Trump administration’s scheme to rig the census threatens American democracy
In his first year in office, Donald Trump and his administration have launched a daunting number of direct and open attacks on long-respected American rights and freedoms—threatening immigrants, the media, health care, transgender rights in the military, and much else. But there have been other, indirect and behind-the-scenes attacks, too, which may be no less damaging to the United States in the long term.
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Perhaps the most critical of these is aimed at the census. Under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, “the whole number of persons in each State” must be counted “every … ten years.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/146910/who-counts-rig-census-threatens-american-democracy
February 20: Trump Advocates for Good Old-Fashioned Gerrymandering
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a new state Congressional map that is far more favorable to Democrats than the old, egregiously gerrymandered version.
On Tuesday morning, Trump rather predictably expressed his disdain for this change:
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On Twitter: Hope Republicans in the Great State of Pennsylvania challenge the new “pushed” Congressional Map, all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. Your Original was correct! Don’t let the Dems take elections away from you so that they can raise taxes & waste money!
February 20
@realDonaldTrump
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trump-advocates-for-good-old-fashioned-gerrymandering.html
March 9: A panel of three federal judges heard arguments on Friday in the latest attempt by Pennsylvania Republicans to block a court-imposed map of voting districts that could boost Democrats’ chances of winning control of the U.S. Congress this year.
The court was expected to rule quickly given the March 20 deadline for candidates to file to run for Congress.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-pennsylvania/pennsylvania-republicans-make-case-for-scrapping-new-congress-map-idUSKCN1GL1DQ
March 19: Supreme Court Delivers Blow To Republicans, Declines To Take Up Pa. Redistricting
The decision means Republicans have few, if any, options remaining to try to stem a map that will almost certainly result in Democrats picking up potentially three or four seats and could make half a dozen or more competitive.
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Tuesday is the filing deadline for candidates for Pennsylvania's May 15 primaries.
Last month, the Supreme Court also declined to block the state court decision that said the old GOP-drawn map violated the Pennsylvania Constitution.
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/19/594993409/supreme-court-delivers-blow-to-republicans-declines-to-take-up-pa-redistricting
March 27: Supreme Court takes new look at partisan gerrymandering
At issue: How much partisanship is too much in a process that has always been manipulated by political parties in the majority?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-takes-new-look-partisan-gerrymandering-n860121
June 18: The U.S. Supreme Court cast doubt on the ability of voters to challenge statewide maps for being excessively partisan, siding with Republicans in a fight over GOP-friendly voting lines for the Wisconsin Assembly.
"Partisan gerrymandering injures enough individuals and organizations in enough concrete ways to ensure that standing requirements, properly applied, will not often or long prevent courts from reaching the merits of cases like this one," Kagan [Justice Elena Kagan] wrote. "Or from insisting, when they do, that partisan officials stop degrading the nation’s democracy."
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Roberts [Chief Justice John Roberts] said the court would "leave for another day consideration of other possible theories of harm not presented here."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-18/high-court-leaves-maps-intact-sidesteps-gerrymandering-issues
June 18: Supreme Court opts not to decide gerrymandering cases
Monday's rulings will not have major implications for claims of gerrymandering in other states -- North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Michigan and Virginia -- where legislatures controlled by one party have drawn new district lines.
District lines can still be changed in time for the 2020 elections if the Supreme Court takes up the issue next term.
https://www.upi.com/Supreme-Court-opts-not-to-decide-gerrymandering-cases/9091529334842/
August 27: A panel of three federal judges in North Carolina ruled Monday the state's congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that favors Republicans, and said it may require districts to be redrawn before the November elections.
Republicans hold 10 of the state's 13 seats in the House of Representatives, and a redrawn map could put more seats in play for Democrats -- potentially affecting control of the House.
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The judges acknowledged primary elections have already occurred, but said they were reluctant to let voting take place in districts that courts twice found had been unconstitutionally drawn.
The same decision was reached by the court in January, but the Supreme Court declined in June to hear the case and it was sent back for reconsideration. The Supreme Court has never ruled a partisan gerrymander to be unconstitutional,
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/politics/north-carolina-gerrymandering-court/
September 4: The next decade is on the ballot in 2018
To reverse Republican gerrymandering, Democrats must win key races this fall.
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/4/16769988/elections-2018-gerrymandering-redistricting-midterms
October 13: What comes next in the fight against partisan gerrymandering
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/13/what-comes-next-in-the-fight-against-partisan-gerrymandering/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4c4f00201f0d
November 6: Extreme Gerrymandering Could Still Stymie the Blue Wave
https://www.wired.com/story/elections-2018-extreme-gerrymandering-blue-wave/
-- 2019 --
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May 24: The Supreme Court on Friday set aside two lower court rulings tossing out congressional maps in Michigan and Ohio, putting the process of redrawing district lines on hold while it prepares to rule on whether or not partisan gerrymandering is constitutional.
Republicans in both Midwestern states had appealed lower-court rulings that their congressional maps had been drawn so egregiously to favor the GOP that they violated the constitutional rights of voters. The Supreme Court already heard arguments in partisan gerrymandering cases from Maryland and North Carolina — and the high court is expected to render a decision next month that could decide what happens in Michigan and Ohio as well.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/24/supreme-court-blocks-gerrymandering-michigan-ohio-1344369
-- 2020 --
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