The judiciary may play an important role in the upcoming elections, as the issue of partisan gerrymandering makes its way through the court system.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court put a hold on two lower-court rulings that ordered the drawing of new congressional maps before the 2020 elections.
Republican strongholds targeted
One of the lower-court rulings was from Ohio, while the other was from Michigan. Both took issue with their state’s congressional maps.
In Ohio, the federal court found the districting, in which Republicans hold twelve of sixteen congressional seats, unconstitutional. The federal court in Michigan reached the same conclusion about a redistricting plan put forth by the Republican-controlled legislature.
Besides striking down these two instances of what they decided was partisan gerrymandering, the lower-courts ordered that new congressional maps be drawn before the 2020 elections. But this all changed on Friday.
High court steps in
The Supreme Court, unanimously, decided to hit the pause button on the Ohio and Michigan rulings. For the time being, that means that congressional maps may not have to be redrawn.
In doing so, the justices granted a request by Republicans from both states to halt the lower-court rulings.
The likely reason for the Supreme Court’s decision is that it is currently dealing with cases that have the potential to affect the lower-court rulings.
SCOTUS considers partisan gerrymandering
The Supreme Court is currently considering two cases which look at the role of partisanship in the drawing up of party lines.
One of the cases comes from North Carolina, where Democrats are challenging the congressional map put forth by the state’s Republicans. The other comes from Maryland, where Republicans are challenging the map put forth by Democrats. And in both cases, the court is specifically considering the extent to which maps can be drawn up to make it easier for the party in power to remain in power.
Oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court in March, and a decision is expected to be reached by June.
This issue of “extreme” gerrymandering is an important battle that is being fought in the judiciary ahead of the next scheduled redistricting in 2021. The court has never invalided such gerrymandering, meaning that their decision could have a major impact on the political scene going forward.
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