redistricting is conducted by state legislatures quizlet

1) Redistricting A) happens every 4 years. In March 2011, two citizens challenged this provision in federal court, arguing that the delay "violated the Constitution since it left in place for one election districts that were not of equal population." Many states have other criteria: keeping districts geographically contiguous and compact, ensuring that elections will be competitive, or safeguarding partisan fairness so districts reflect statewide voting trends rather than giving one political party an unearned advantage. For District 12, that is all we must do, because North Carolina has made no attempt to justify race-based districting there. The legislature revised the state Senate map on March 27, 2012, and it was approved by the state supreme court. In most states, that entity is the state legislature itself; most state legislatures additionally hold public hearings or consider public maps, providing an opportunity for community input, transparency, and inclusivity in the redistricting process. The breakdown of states that won and lost new seats as a result of congressional reapportionment are as follows:[2], Michael McDonald, of George Mason University, used census data to determine which state legislative districts were most underpopulated and most overpopulated as of the 2010 census. [113], Following the 2010 United States Census, Montana did not add to its single congressional district, making congressional redistricting unnecessary. On October 26, 2017, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued an order appointing Nate Persily as a special master "to assist the Court in further evaluating and, if necessary, redrawing" the revised maps. As a matter of equitable discretion, a preliminary injunction does not follow as a matter of course from a plaintiff's showing of a likelihood of success on the merits. In 2014 and 2015, the legislature made attempts to modify the districts approved in 2011. [16], On August 10, 2012, state Democrats, black lawmakers, and others filed suit to block implementation of state legislative redistricting plans. The court determined that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that they would suffer irreparable harm if an injunction were not granted. [104], Judge Eric Clay, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton (D), wrote the following in the court's opinion and order: "Today, this Court joins the growing chorus of federal courts that have, in recent years, held that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. Because plaintiffs have shown that race predominated in Virginias 2012 plan and because defendants have failed to establish that this race-based redistricting satisfies strict scrutiny, we find that the 2012 plan is unconstitutional and will require the commonwealth to draw a new congressional district plan. The Missouri Supreme Court "agreed with the trial court's decision to dismiss several counts (including partisan gerrymandering claims), but remanded for a determination of whether the congressional districts (particularly districts 3 and 5) were sufficiently compact under state constitutional law." On March 1, 2012, the legislature approved a state legislative redistricting plan, which was signed into law on March 6, 2012.[346]. The panel also ordered a stay on the proceedings pending a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Gill v. Whitford. Meanwhile, Democratic attorney Marc Elias, who initiated the suit, praised the order: "In Virginia, the Federal Court in the long-running state house redistricting case has ordered the special master to adopt the alternative-map configuration we advocated. The pair issued a joint statement announcing the plan: "The Republican Legislative Leaders in the House and Senate have agreed to a Congressional District Map that complies fully with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's order and opinion." Consequently, redistricting has a direct bearing on what matters a legislature chooses to tackle, and which to ignore. A number of lawsuits followed, including Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Racial gerrymandering was forbidden, and states with a history of discrimination at the polls had to get clearance from the Justice Department before changing voting laws or drawing new maps. On September 17, 2019, the state legislature approved H1020 and SB 692, remedial district plans for the state House and Senate, respectively. This process was known as preclearance. On June 21, 2013, the state legislature approved permanent congressional and state legislative redistricting plans. [35], On November 1, 2011, the United States Department of Justice precleared these plans. [108][109][110], Following the 2010 United States Census, Michigan lost one congressional seat. The Senate map enacted by the legislature on August 30, 2017, is displayed below. NCDP applauds the special master for doing just that, and for giving voters in the affected districts a chance to pick their representatives again instead of the other way around. [65][35], On August 23, 2010, the state legislature approved new state legislative district lines. The timetable, for one. At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature, but a Democrat held the governorship. Reapportionment - Definition, Examples, Cases, Processes - Legal Dictionary This article deals with the redistricting efforts undertaken by the states after the 2010 census. On May 22, 2017, the court upheld the lower court's determination that Districts 1 and 12 constituted an illegal racial gerrymander. Finally, no district has more than a one-person difference in population from any other district, and, therefore, the Remedial Plan achieves the constitutional guarantee of one person, one vote. The primary is now set for June 14 and the general for November 8, the lawyers contended. Further details about this case are provided below. At the time of redistricting, Democrats held both chambers of the West Virginia State Legislature and the governorship. '". On February 10, 2012, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that the state House maps must be redrawn, "with instructions for the trial court to reconsider the extent to which mildly larger population deviations would satisfy other state redistricting criteria, to reconsider the partisan impact and incumbent pairings of a court-ordered plan, and to recognize a district protecting Hispanic voters in the Clovis area under the Voting Rights Act." [119][120], Following the 2010 United States Census, New Jersey lost one congressional seat. These are linked below:[235][236][237], On February 19, 2018, the state supreme court voted 4-3 to adopt the remedial congressional plan drafted by Nate Persily. C) must be approved by Congress. The court also found that 27 of the 34 challenged districts violated the plaintiffs' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by diluting the impact of their votes. On February 12, 2018, a panel of state superior court judges declined this request. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. Role of the States in Regulating Federal Elections The court ordered that these two districts be redrawn. Supreme Court to review state legislatures' power in federal elections On October 20, 2011, O'Malley signed the map into law. Judge Kevin Brobson penned the document, which is not itself a binding legal decision. Redistricting occurs every ten years, with the national census. Yes, and this is one way that redistricting becomes so politicized. "There are two ways to assign seats to different geographic areas: apportioning and redistricting. New maps are drawn to keep the population in each congressional district roughly even. [133], On November 14, 2019, the state House approved a remedial district plan (HB1029) by a vote of 55-46 .The vote split along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of the bill and all Democrats voting against it. [86], On November 5, 2013, opponents of the state's newly approved congressional district map filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Alabama. Eleven states leave the mapmaking to an outside panel. For the judiciary, this should be the end of the inquiry. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on April 15, 2015. The court also voted 5-4 to stay the district court decision that ordered Wisconsin lawmakers to draft new maps by November 1, 2017. And redistricting contributes to political polarization by making elections less competitive. Enjoy a curated collection of stories, photos, videos and featured content from across campus, delivered each Wednesday afternoon. The Court has been working diligently and has made substantial progress toward resolution of the claims on the 2011 plans; however, it has not yet reached a final decision. On February 10, 2012, the state legislature approved new congressional district boundaries, which were signed into law on the same day. [101][102], On February 1, 2019, the court rejected a proposed settlement in which maps for some state House districts would be redrawn in advance of the 2020 election. [86][87], On February 10, 2015, the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Consequently, the state's courts were asked to intervene and adopt a new congressional map. Partisan mapmakers often move district lines subtly or egregiously to cluster voters in a way that advances a political goal, like helping their party or bolstering an incumbents chances of re-election. "Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district maps. On February 3, 2012, the trial court again rejected the plaintiff's compactness claims, and the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed that decision on May 25, 2012. We can draw them to fairly reflect the population: Blue gets three seats, Red gets two seats. [35], On July 29, 2011, the Arkansas Board of Apportionment approved new state legislative district maps. You should! Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan. On September 27, 2011, the Maine State Legislature approved what All About Redistricting called a "substantially modified version of this plan." On October 17, 2011, Idaho's redistricting commission approved a new congressional district map. The legislature approved a state legislative redistricting plan on May 23, 2011, which was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry on June 17, 2011. The Blue party controls redistricting and does not want to worry about competitive elections. The majority opinion read, in part, as follows:[238], Chief Justice Thomas Saylor filed a dissenting opinion, which read, in part, as follows:[239], Justices Sallie Mundy and Max Baer also penned individual dissents. Redistricting - The Florida Senate [134][135], Democrats opposed the remedial plan and announced their intention to challenge it in court. To pack in as many Democrats as possible, by including liberal cities and bypassing conservative rural areas. The Richmond Times-Dispatch described this map as follows:[304], In January 2016, a group of Republican lawmakers, including Representatives Rob Wittman, Bob Goodlatte, J. Randy Forbes, Morgan Griffith, Scott Rigell, Robert Hurt, David Brat, and Barbara Comstock, petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States, asking that the court halt the use of this newly drawn map. A. [61][62], Following the 2010 United States Census, Georgia gained one congressional seat. However, the court ordered state lawmakers to draft a new map during their next legislative session. On December 2, 2019, the court ruled unanimously that elections in 2020 would take place under the remedial maps. Associate Justice Elena Kagan penned a dissent, joined by Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. "[303][306][307][308][309][310][311], The governor signed into law a state legislative redistricting plan on August 29, 2011. "Yes! That opportunity might allow incumbents to createdistricts that are particularly favorable to them on personal grounds. Pending appeals, the remedial map was slated to apply to the 2019 election cycle. The court ruled unanimously against the challengers, finding that they lacked standing to appeal. "The redistricting that followed the 2010 census suddenly became less fair as partisan mapmakers used newly available information, technology and software to draw maps that greatly favor one party while respecting the equal population requirement. Paxton requested that the high court stay the lower court's ruling pending full review of the case. Reset Selection Mark for Review What's This? However, the district court was directed to reconsider its order for special elections in 2017, with the high court finding that the district court had not conducted the proper analysis in determining its remedy. Second, the Elections Clause offers no judicially enforceable limit on political considerations in redistricting. On May 10, 2011, the legislature approved a congressional redistricting plan, but this proposal was vetoed by the governor. On June 29, 2011, the state legislature approved new congressional district boundaries, which were signed into law by the governor on August 9, 2011. At the time of the ruling, Republicans controlled the House of Delegates, holding 51 seats to Democrats' 48. The new congressional district map was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal on April 14, 2011. The legislature proved unable to pass its own congressional redistricting plan. "[231][232], On February 13, 2018, Governor Tom Wolf (D) announced that he would not submit the remedial congressional district plan drafted by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R) and House Speaker Mike Turzai (R) to the state supreme court. Districts where people of color are in the majority are often referred to as V.R.A. Because fundamental principles of constitutional standing and judicial restraint prohibit us from exercising jurisdiction, we have no authority to take any action other than to dismiss the Plaintiffs verified complaint. Lawmakers should minimize the splitting of precincts when drawing districts. [35], On April 14, 2011, Governor Mike Beebe signed the new congressional district map into law. The court ordered that District 3 be redrawn in light of this ruling. On May 3, 2019, Republicans filed a request with the three-judge panel for an emergency stay of its ruling. [334], The plaintiffs in the case proposed a three-part test for determining whether illegal partisan gerrymandering has occurred in a state. "[82], Following the 2010 United States Census, Maine neither gained nor lost congressional seats. But the Red party controls the redistricting process, and wants to gain an advantage. [271][272], On July 10, 2017, a federal trial addressing the constitutionality of the district maps adopted by the legislature in 2013 began, with Judges Orlando Garcia and Xavier Rodriguez (both of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas) and Judge Jerry Smith (of the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit) presiding. STUDY GUIDE Exam 2 Flashcards by Angel Thornsbury | Brainscape This case is brought under the Elections Clause of Article I of the United States Constitution, which is a novel legal claim, asserting the 2011 map redistricting Pennsylvania's congressional districts was in violation of the United States Constitution. Attorneys for Turzai and Scarnati wrote the following in their petition:[245], On March 19, 2018, the Supreme Court issued an order declining to intervene in the case. The decennial redistricting process, in which states use fresh population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to draw new congressional and state legislative district lines, would normally have been well underway by now. [139], On July 31, 2017, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued an order denying plaintiff's request for a special election using a new district map in 2017. But in simple terms, it refers to the intentional distortion of a map of political districts to give one party an advantage. A trifecta occurs when one political party occupies these three positions in a state government: In states where legislatures and governors dominate the redistricting process, a party's trifecta status can be determinative. The United States Department of Justice granted preclearance to the congressional maps on April 9, 2012. David Gersch, an attorney for the voters who initially brought the lawsuit challenging the congressional district plan, said that Republicans were making inconsistent arguments, having claimed in a separate lawsuit that the matter should be addressed by state-level authorities: "Now that they have lost in the highest court of the commonwealth, the legislators turn around and say the exact opposite." Illinois Democrats Map Aims to Grab 2 G.O.P. On February 9, 2012, the state legislature approved a state legislative redistricting plan via joint resolution. Cracking is when mapmakers break up a cluster of a certain type of voters people from a specific demographic group, or simply affiliated with the opposing party and spread them among several districts, diluting their vote rather than allowing them to exert a larger influence in fewer districts or even a single district.

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