Current Events > Supreme Court won't do shit about gerrymandering

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/731847977/supreme-court-rules-partisan-gerrymandering-is-beyond-the-reach-of-federal-court

In a 5-4 decision along traditional conservative-liberal ideological lines, the Supreme Court rules that partisan redistricting is a political question, not reviewable by federal courts and can't judge if extreme gerrymandering violates the constitution.

"We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts," Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the conservative majority. "Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions."

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court's four liberals, noted in an impassioned dissent: "Of all times to abandon the Court's duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court's role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent."

The court's ruling came in two cases. In Maryland, Democrats who controlled the state legislature drew new lines for congressional districts to eliminate one of the state's two GOP seats in the U.S. House of Representatives; and in North Carolina, where Republicans controlled the state legislature, they used the same tactics to isolate and limit Democratic power, and maximize their own.

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After the Republicans fucked Ohio the voters passed an anti gerrymandering law.

Too bad, hopefully they will do something about fleeing politicians like those fuckwits in Oregon at least when the time comes.
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This decision does more than not do shit. It effectively nullifies any rulings that found gerrymandering unconstitutional.
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State courts can still overturn bad maps, no?

Besides, the silver lining here is you can see Dems get real creative with their lines in States they rule.
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TalesofMedz posted...

After the Republicans fucked Ohio the voters passed an anti gerrymandering law.

This is another solution to the issue
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Gerrymandering is why the supreme court became politicized in the first place. It was a huge case where the deciding vote had a mental breakdown and left the judiciary.
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Seems bad, imo
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Too bad gerrymandering is mandatory, huh?
http://www.publicmapping.org/what-is-redistricting/redistricting-criteria-the-voting-rights-act

Under certain circumstances, minority opportunity districts must be drawn that have at least 50% minority voting-age population (VAP).

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/how-the-voting-rights-act-hurts-democrats-and-minorities/276893/
tl;dr: because states are compelled to create minority-majority districts, racists and opportunists are happy to comply, by quarantining as many minorities as possible into a single district.

this is why republicans wanted a majority in the SCOTUS
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^ Listening to the 538 Gerrymandering Project turned me against parts of the VRA oddly enough

It sounds good in theory but in a larger picture it's kinda not great
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