Gerrymandering Across the US
Gerrymandering is not a new issue. As long as the party in power has the ability to establish voting districts there will always be a tendency to draw borders which are favorable to their party.
What is new is the growing trend for minority parties and concerned citizens to push back against extreme gerrymandering. Locations such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are challenging their district lines.
In May, the US Supreme Court ruled against 2 congressional districts in North Carolina. The courts ruled that the state relied too much on race when drawing district lines. Republicans won 10 of the 13 seats in North Carolina, which sparked this controversy.
Supreme Court Rejects 2 Congressional Districts In North Carolina
The Supreme Court will hear a case from Wisconsin regarding gerrymandering in their state. This will be the first time in nearly a decade that the US Supreme Court will be taking one of these cases. This will also allow the courts to rule what counts as unconstitutional when it comes to drawing district lines.
Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Wisconsin Gerrymandering Case
In Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's district lines. This was sparked by voting outcomes in 2012 of republicans winning 13 out of the 18 congressional seats, but only 49 percent of the congressional vote. Again in 2014 and 2016, republicans won the same amount of seats but only 55 and 54 percent of the votes. This lawsuit will be
Pennsylvania gerrymandering lawsuit cites maps, statistics
Mickey Maurer and the Hoosier people are calling for redistricting reform in Indiana. Gerrymandering in Indiana leads to bad legislation being passed because of a sense of stability that some legislators have. This is one of the stems of the issues of legislation in this state. Redistricting reform will be surfaced again in the 2018 General Assembly.
MAURER: Gerrymandering leads to bad bills
To get involved in the conversation here in Indiana, click here