U.S. Court to Weigh Republican Challenge to Pennsylvania Voter Redistricting

[DonViejo]

Source: U.S. News & World Report




March 9, 2018, at 6:02 a.m.

BY DAVID DEKOK

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A panel of federal judges on Friday will weigh Republicans' latest attempt to block new Pennsylvania district boundaries for voters in congressional elections that could boost Democrats' chances of winning control of Congress this year.

The state's Supreme Court issued the revised map last month after finding the old lines were drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature to marginalize Democratic voters in violation of the Pennsylvania constitution.

The new map increases Democrats' odds of winning some half-dozen congressional seats in Pennsylvania, according to political analysts. The party must flip 24 seats nationwide in November's mid-term elections to win the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans.

Since the old boundaries were instituted prior to the 2012 mid-term elections, Republicans have held 13 of the state's 18 congressional seats despite the state's closely divided electorate.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2018-03-09/us-court-to-weigh-republican-challenge-to-pennsylvania-voter-redistricting

[dchill]

1. Federal judges, state's Constitution...

How will that work?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. The GOP lost the issue of getting the feds involved in a state Constitution ruling

This go-around, they are trying to put a stay on the re-drawn maps arguing that the state Supreme Court drew the lines rather than the legislature. Problem is, the court ordered the legislature to do it and the GOP leaders instead refused to call the legislature into session to vote on a redrawn map by the deadline, and decided to throw their own in to the court at the last minute. The governor had even signaled that he would accept a "shell bill" voted on by the legislature using the map the GOP leaders submitted but the GOP refused to even do that.

Also the OP article describes the gerrymandering issue incorrectly. The effect of what the GOP did certainly ended up minimizing the Democratic electorate on purpose, however the ruling that the state Supreme Court gave was that the lines themselves violated the state Constitution by not being "compact" and "contiguous" (and the state Constitution makes no mention of party when doing the boundaries).

[Fullduplexxx]

2. So which is it ?

Several incumbent Republican congressmen are plaintiffs in the Harrisburg lawsuit, which will be heard by a three-judge panel as per federal law regarding electoral challenges.

State election officials have asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that the judges have no jurisdiction over a state court's decision.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. See post #3

They are trying to argue that the state Supreme court had no right to draw the lines because it is supposed to be a legislative function. They lost earlier federal challenges against the state Supreme Court ruling that their previous map could be thrown out.

[elleng]

7. Badly written article.

[Demit]

5. Fascinating that this story does not ONCE use the word gerrymandered to describe the old map.

It shades the story by saying the redrawn map will "boost Democrats' chances" and "increase Democrats' odds of winning" as if that is somehow unsavory. It never once mentions how Republicans originally drew the map to deliberately favor themselves. Very badly written story.

[elleng]

6. 'Several incumbent Republican congressmen are plaintiffs in the Harrisburg lawsuit,

which will be heard by a three-judge panel as per federal law regarding electoral challenges.

State election officials have asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that the judges have no jurisdiction over a state court's decision.'