Voting Rights At Stake in Partisan Gerrymandering Case

image
Published: 03 Oct, 2017
2 min read

Update October 3, 2017: The full transcript has been released for the oral argument in Gill v. Whitford. Check out the transcript below.

 

The Supreme Court heard oral argument Tuesday in Gill v. Whitford, a case out of Wisconsin that challenges the state's gerrymandered legislative districts.

Gill v. Whitford is significant because it is the first case that a federal court ruled electoral maps unconstitutional not on the basis of race or class discrimination, but political discrimination. The district court ruled 2-1 that the mapmaking was so partisan that it violated the rights of voters outside the Republican Party, which controls the Wisconsin legislature.

The case is now before the Supreme Court, and it is reported that the justices appear divided on the issue. Reuters reports that the conservative justices questioned whether or not appellants -- consisting of Democratic voters -- actually had standing.

Chief Justice John Roberts also questioned the role the court should play in ruling on these maps.

“We will have to decide in every case whether the Democrats or the Republicans win. The intelligent man on the street is going to say, ‘That’s a bunch of baloney,'” Roberts said.

The Supreme Court has historically been reluctant to rule that an electoral map violated the constitution based on political factors outside race or class discrimination. In Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), the high court ruled that there was no measurable or judicial standard to determine what constitutes “too partisan.”

IVP Donate

However, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg raised the issue of voting rights, and the impact extreme partisan gerrymandering could continue to have on the electoral process and voters' desire to participate in a process they think is rigged from the start.

"What incentive is there for a voter to exercise his vote? What becomes of the precious right to vote?" Ginsburg asked.

Read a full analysis of the SCOTUS hearing here.

It is important to note that partisan gerrymandering is not solely a Republican issue. While it is often portrayed as a scheme by the GOP, Democrats are just as guilty. Congressional maps in Maryland or Illinois, for instance, are just as partisan as the legislative maps in Wisconsin.

It is a two-party scheme to maintain power and protect incumbents.

In this case, it is not just Democratic voters that are affected. It is every voter outside the party in control of the legislature, in an effort by lawmakers to pick their voters instead of the other way around.

However, using newer measurable standards, Gill v. Whitford could begin to change all of that, and change Supreme Court precedent forever. Stay tuned for additional coverage of this case on IVN.

Read the full transcript:

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read