As Democrats gear up for this November’s 2018 midterm election, hoping to take over the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, the issue of gerrymandered Congressional District maps has become an ever more important issue. Back in 2010 Republicans focused their electoral effort on taking over state legislatures from coast to coast, with the prize being the right to re-draw Congressional District maps based on census data that is gathered every ten years.
The Republican’s “Red Map” project, as it was called, succeeded. Once the maps were redrawn to provide GOP candidates a partisan advantage, Republicans have had a lock on controlling the House of Representatives. However, in recent years, lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania where Republicans hold 13 of 18 congressional seats due to gerrymandered districts, a lawsuit resulted in the state Supreme Court striking down the congressional map. Republicans appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but on Feb. 5 the high court declined to hear the case. Now the GOP-controlled legislature must draw new maps by Feb. 15. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Steven Rosenfeld, who covers democracy and voting rights issues for Alternet.org. Here he discusses the challenges to gerrymandering in Pennsylvania – and the U.S. Supreme Court’s role ruling on other important partisan gerrymandering cases that could determine which party controls Congress.
For more information, visit Alternet.org.
