Pauls' Revere
01-04-2019, 08:41 PM
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-top-court-takes-up-politically-charged-electoral-map-disputes/ar-BBROp98?ocid=ientp
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is giving itself another chance to make a definitive ruling on the legality of the long-established but often-criticized political practice called partisan gerrymandering in which state legislators draw electoral districts with the intent of entrenching their party in power.
The high court, which failed to resolve the issue last year, on Friday agreed to hear constitutional challenges to electoral maps drawn by Republicans in North Carolina and by Democrats in Maryland. The court will hear arguments in both cases in March, with rulings due by the end of June that could have enduring political consequences nationwide.
Critics have said partisan gerrymandering is becoming more extreme with the use of precision computer modeling to the point that it has begun to warp democracy in certain states by subverting the will of voters.
The high court has struggled over what to do about this practice in which boundaries of legislative districts are reconfigured by state lawmakers with the aim of making them friendly territory on Election Day for candidates in the party in power at the expense of opposing candidates.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is giving itself another chance to make a definitive ruling on the legality of the long-established but often-criticized political practice called partisan gerrymandering in which state legislators draw electoral districts with the intent of entrenching their party in power.
The high court, which failed to resolve the issue last year, on Friday agreed to hear constitutional challenges to electoral maps drawn by Republicans in North Carolina and by Democrats in Maryland. The court will hear arguments in both cases in March, with rulings due by the end of June that could have enduring political consequences nationwide.
Critics have said partisan gerrymandering is becoming more extreme with the use of precision computer modeling to the point that it has begun to warp democracy in certain states by subverting the will of voters.
The high court has struggled over what to do about this practice in which boundaries of legislative districts are reconfigured by state lawmakers with the aim of making them friendly territory on Election Day for candidates in the party in power at the expense of opposing candidates.