redistricting
April 21, 2022 -
Over protests by the state's Black lawmakers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed his fellow Republicans to adopt a congressional district map that is expected to slash the number of Black representatives for the state. The new map could be challenged in court, but appellate courts have recently sided with the GOP in voting rights cases.
February 24, 2022 -
With federal courts limiting the scope of protections, voting rights advocates are turning to state courts to challenge election districts for violating state constitutional rights. A recent ruling in North Carolina has given hope to voters who've filed similar lawsuits in other Southern states.
December 16, 2021 -
Southern states' new Republican-drawn election maps would mean less political power for communities of color in the Black Belt region. Voters there are now asking state and federal courts to decide if the new districts violate state or federal law, including the Voting Rights Act.
December 10, 2021 -
In its first lawsuit to come out of the latest round of redistricting, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken aim at Texas, arguing that the GOP legislature's new election district maps violate the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against voters by race or color. We look at some of the numbers cited in the lawsuit, which faces an uphill fight in the new legal landscape created by the Supreme Court's 2013 decision gutting the landmark civil rights-era law.
December 6, 2021 -
Prisons inflate the political representation of the communities that host them — without any say from prisoners themselves.
December 2, 2021 -
Voting rights groups have filed multiple lawsuits against North Carolina lawmakers over their new legislative and congressional district maps, which advantage the GOP. The state Supreme Court could have the final say on the cases, as well as another lawsuit challenging a gerrymandered legislature's authority. But before the court weighs in, it must deal with conflicts of interest.
October 29, 2021 -
The Republicans who control legislatures in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas have drawn congressional maps that favor their party and disadvantage voters of color. Meanwhile, an independent redistricting commission has faltered in its effort to draw new election maps in Virginia.
