fair maps Archives | American Democracy Minute

Ohio SOS Under Fire Again, This Time for Sabotaging the Ballot Measure Description for a Citizen-Led Redistricting Commission

August 21, 2024August 21, 2024

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is again under fire, this time for attempting to undercut a citizen-run redistricting commission ballot initiative which threatens to undo politician-drawn gerrymandered maps. Initiative organizers challenged the action in the Ohio Supreme Court August 19th.

Utah Voters Fought Back After Their Fair Voting Districts Constitutional Amendment was Gutted by an Anti-Voter Legislature. They Won.

July 18, 2024July 18, 2024

Utah voters passed the Better Boundaries Proposition 4 in 2018, setting standards for competitive, nonpartisan redistricting. Utah’s legislature, in an effort to retain partisan power, gutted that amendment. The state supreme court just ruled for the voters.

WI Gov. Signs Fairer Maps, MO High Court Rejects Challenge to State Senate Map, and NV’s Redistricting Commission Ballot Question Struck Down

February 20, 2024February 20, 2024

Wisconsin’s governor signed off on state legislative maps February 19th, fixing some of the worst gerrymandering in the U.S. Missouri’s Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the state senate map, and a Nevada court rejected a citizen ballot initiative to implement an independent redistricting commission.

Why was California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission Successful, While New York’s Commission Resulted in Gerrymandering & Court Cases?

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

While New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission struggled, the successful California Citizen Redistricting Commission maps were passed unanimously in 2021 with no litigation. New York’s commission deadlocked, and was overruled by a Democratic-dominated legislature which drew its own gerrymandered maps. Those were later thrown out by the court, and the Congressional map is STILL being contested.

Will an Appeal Give New York’s Bipartisan Redistricting Committee Another Chance to Draw Fair Maps?

November 19, 2023November 19, 2023

In 2014, a New York constitutional amendment created the New York Independent Redistricting Commission. But the redistricting commission lacked both independence and authority, and the 2021 maps ended up in the legislature and ultimately the courts. The Congressional map was in court again last week.