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Redstricting
in Pennsylvania:
The
Supreme Court's ruling
April 2004
On April 28, 2004, the Supreme Court upheld Pennsylvania's congressional redistricting map -- one that all observers
acknowledge
was a partisan gerrymander in favor of Republicans as well as a plan
that shield most incumbents from competition.
The ruling was 5-4. Four justices (Justice Scalia wrote for O'Connor,
Rehnquist and Thomas) would remove the federal
courts from all political gerrymandering claims. One justice
(Kennedy) joined them in denying the plaintiffs' claim in Pennsylvania.
Four justices (Breyer, Ginsberg, Souter and Stevens),
supported the plaintiffs while offering three different opinions.
The Justices' difficulty with this issue and the majority's
opinion in this case suggest that we must pursue political solutions
to this immense problem -- a problem that, in concert with
winner-take-all elections, denies most Americans with any realistic
opportunity to change their representation in the U.S. House and
consistently under-represents political and racial minorities in a given
state. The Center for Voting and Democracy suggests that there are
important improvements to be made in redistricting, there is
only one unambiguously positive reform that meets all the goals of
those seeking fair redistricting: full representation in
multi-seat districts.
For more on the case and on full representation, see:
CVD's Steven Hill and Rob
Richie writing in Tom Paine.com on the problem of
gerrymandering--and the urgent need for full representation. (May
5, 2004)
The Washington Post's
coverage of the decision. (April 29,
2004)
* Opinions
of Scalia, Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, and Breyer, issued on
April 28, 2004. (April 29, 2004)
* Key
amicus curiae in the case (April
29, 2004)
* Motions
and orders in the case (April 29,
2004) * April
2004 conference
on redistricting at the Brookings Institute, with papers
available for download and proceedings able to to be viewed
on-line
From CVD on
Redistricting:
* "The
Gerrymander Moment" - Commentary on the case
from the Center in December 2003
* The Center's public
interest guide to redistricting, with
the latest news from all 50 states * Monopoly
Politics, a CVD report showing the predictability of U.S.
House races, due in large part to the redistricting
process. * Dubious
Democracy, another CVD report that examines the failure of
the U.S. House to represent a majority of Americans.
* Background on full
representation
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