Posted on 04/25/2019 4:15:17 PM PDT by Coronal
A panel of three federal judges in Michigan ruled Thursday that the state’s legislature unfairly drew up state and congressional districts and must come up with new boundaries.
The lawsuit was filed by the League of Women Voters of Michigan and alleged that Republicans in the state legislature had purposely drawn up districts that disadvantage Democratic candidates.
The three judges said in their ruling that 27 of the 34 challenged districts violated the plaintiffs’ First and 14th Amendment rights “by diluting the weight of their votes.” The judges also found every one of the districts challenged violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to association.
“This court joins the growing chorus of federal courts that have, in recent years, held that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional,” the judges wrote in their opinion.
Lawmakers in the Republican-held state legislature must now draw up new maps that will be amicable enough to be approved by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. According to the court, Whitmer must sign off on the new maps before Aug. 1, or the court will draw the new maps itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
I’m guessing they “disadvantage” Democratic candidates because they don’t give them an advantage.
Michigan should Ban Hunting and let the Deer takeover
Well, Pennsylvania was the guinea pig for this judicial scam! They stole the PA Hoise seats by completely violating the state Constitution and drew the map up tgrmselves! Judges drew up a district map.
Take it to the Supremes
They need to pass on doing anything until after the 2020 Census.
The whole of Republican Michigan is usually decided for by the Democrat Detroit area.
The Court is itself is partisan. Too bad it doesn't publically recognize it.
Demo rats do gerrymandering up the wazoo when they are in power and what court goes and tells democrats they need to redraw maps becaue they disadvantaged republicans?
When?!?!
Districts in Mich. are still setup up, I think, for Detroit to control two Congressional Districts when the population of Detroit has dropped below the typical population count of a single Congressional District.
I don’t know about this specific case but I’ve seen votingndistricts drawn up that make no sense at all and are obviously done to insure one party or another’s candidate is elected. I don’t care which side does it, it’s wrong. I wish we could figure out some neutral way to make these districts.
“...or the court will draw the new maps itself.”
I agree. This is completely illegal. The courts might strike down a plan, but they have no authority to take over the legislative powers and draw up a plan of their own.
Nothing in the constitution, federal or state, gives COURTS the right to draw congressional or other districts.
What if we disagree with the court, and think it violated the law? Who can check a court?
Also, it is absurd to say a party affiliation is a right that must be protected; and there is no way for a judge to know whether a person would vote for a democrat or a republican candidate, people change all the time, and vote for all sorts of reasons.
It is absurd to call party affiliation a “class”; it isn’t like being black, or a woman. It is a simple choice, and one that most people make and remake many times.
As for “right to associate”, I would argue that putting MORE democrats together into a single district is INCREASING their vote’s change of “counting”, since they are more likely to elect a person who believes like they do.
My counter to the “unfair grouping” is this — suppose you live in a state where 55% are “republican”, and 45% are “democrat”.
What constitutional principle would be violated if you specifically drew congressional districts so that EACH district accurately reflected the state, meaning that EACH district had 55% republicans, and 45% democrats? Of course, then NO democrats would win.
If that is somehow “wrong”, the only way to fix it is to re-group some of the democrats together into majority democrat districts. Now, this court seems to think that it is a requirement that the legislature GUESS what people are thinking, and then draw districts so that, if 45% of the people once claim “democrat”, that 45% of the districts are “majority democrat”.
why is it wrong? Personally, I prefer being in a district with 60% conservaties, because then I am represented by someone who agrees with me.
The argument that MY vote is diluted because of what OTHER voters in other districts do is silly — this court is ruling that the republicans who make up the majority in the districts as drawn have to LOSE THEIR REPRESENTATION because it is “unfair”, even though MORE democrats are represented by democrats in the gerrymandered district model.
So when are the Republicans going to take California to court over vote harvesting before it spreads countrywide?
Does anyone recall whether the League of Women Voters of any state has brought suit alleging that Dims had purposely drawn up districts that disadvantage Republican candidates?
These are state legislative districts. The census isn't going to have much of an effect on those.
Uh, apparently BOTH.
Besides what data do States use for State House and Senate Districts?
Districting is a state issue. The Feds need to stay within their jurisdiction.
Ballot harvesting IS ALREADY COUNTRYWIDE. It sure happened in Arizona in 2018! Soros ‘Secretaries of State Project’ has reached into the various County Recorder positions and Maricopa County, and others in Arizona, has/have been corrupted. Unless the Republicans get a handle on voter fraud, there will never be a Republican elected nationally again. I am beyond fed up with the Left using the courts to get whatever they want and NO ONE pushes back!!
(PS-out of the myriad elections still up for grabs after the 2018 election, IIRC ONLY TWO eventually went to the Republicans. Maybe 40 or so went to the Dems. ANYONE think this was the actual result of all those elections.......without adding the ballot harvesting??)
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