Supreme Court justices appear unsettled after gerrymandering case arguments
The Supreme Court seems unsettled about how and whether to address the issue of drawing electoral districts for partisan advantage. Their decision could affect how elections are conducted around the country.
The justices seemed to be struggling Wednesday with an appeal by Republican voters in Maryland who object to a congressional district that Democrats drew to elect a candidate of their own. Republicans who filed the Maryland appeal complain that Democrats who controlled the state government in 2011 drew a congressional district for the express purpose of ousting the Republican incumbent and replacing him with a Democrat.
The Maryland case is a companion to one from Wisconsin in which Democrats complain about a Republican-drawn map of legislative districts. That case was argued in October and remains undecided.
Justice Stephen Breyer suggested that the court could add in yet a third case involving North Carolina's congressional district and set another round of arguments to deal with all three states.
In Wisconsin, Democrats are challenging legislative districts drawn by Republicans statewide. Those districts gave Republicans a huge majority in a state that otherwise is closely divided between the parties.
The Supreme Court has never struck down districts for being too partisan.
A decision in both the Maryland and Wisconsin cases is expected by late June.