gerrymandering

Democracy Wins as Court Rules Against Gerrymandering in North Carolina

In a ruling hailed as a major and historic “victory for democracy,” a federal court on Tuesday deemed North Carolina’s 2016 congressional map unconstitutional on the grounds that it was drawn to discriminate against Democratic voters—marking the first time a federal court has struck down a redistricting plan for partisan gerrymandering.

TODAY, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court Could Deal A Fatal Blow To Gerrymandering

As we mentioned late Friday, today is D-Day for gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. Yes... TODAY. There are 3 gerrymandering lawsuits wending their way through the courts in Harrisburg and the first one makes its judicial splash today. "The litigation," reported Reuters on Sunday, "is part of a growing set of legal challenges to partisan redistricting, including a U.S.

Will Pennsylvania Congressional Districts Really Be Re-Drawn Before The Midterms?

Pennsylvania is one of the most absurdly gerrymandered states in the country. Let's call it a 50/50 state. The 5 most recent presidential elections:

• 2000- Gore 50.6%, 48.6%• 2004- Kerry 51.0%, Bush 48.5%• 2008- Obama 54.7%, McCain 44.3%• 2012- Obama 52.0%, Romney 46.8%• 2016- Trump 48.6%, Hillary 47.9%

The 5 most recent presidential elections:

There Are No Safe Republican Seats In 2018-- PA-16

PA-16 is another of those bizarrely gerrymandered congressional districts courtesy of a Republican legislature that shouldn't be in the majority. Pennsylvania is a 50/50 state, perhaps with a slight Democratic lean. The state's PVI is EVEN, although the districts were drawn to yield 13 Republican seats in Congress and just 5 Democrats instead of 9 from each party.

Are Ballot Initiatives The Way To Get Around Partisan Gerrymandering?

I remember, many years ago, someone suggesting that California-- the biggest blue state-- and Texas-- the biggest red state-- both dump gerrymandering simultaneously. Texas wasn't paying any attention and eventually California went ahead on its own and legislated that district lines would be drawn by a non-partisan commission.