ELECTION WARS AHEAD | WaPo’s Ed Board On Gerrymandering Decision | Trump Administration In An Awkward Spot
May 25, 2017
ON NOTICE
|Writing for HuffPost, Sam Levine reports that the Supreme Court’s ruling this week striking down two North Carolina congressional districts sends a signal to all other states about using race when drawing congressional maps. He notes, “The North Carolina decision is unlikely to prompt a flood of new litigation before the next redistricting cycle. But experts say that it puts states on notice for when they draw new lines that could dilute the votes of minorities.”
TOP-ED
|In The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse opines about the impending “election wars” at the Supreme Court writing, “There was something delicious about the warning in the dissenting opinion by JUSTICE SAMUEL A. ALITO JR. about the danger that ‘the federal courts will be transformed into weapons of political warfare’ if they remain open to deciding such cases.” So gear up folks and get ready for battle. There are fighting days ahead.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of The Washington Post also has something to say about this week’s Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering, calling it a “welcome ruling for voting rights.” WaPo writes that in its decision, SCOTUS did two worthwhile things: “First, it made clear that politicians drawing district lines will face strong constraints in shuffling minority voters in or out of political boundaries. Second, it declared that those challenging district maps have several ways of substantiating their claims, flexibility that might aid plaintiffs in future gerrymandering lawsuits.”
ALWAYS AWKWARD
|“Trump administration lawyers are urging the Supreme Court to reject a 2nd Amendment claim that would restore the right to own a gun for two Pennsylvania men who were convicted more than 20 years ago of nonviolent crimes.” That’s David Savage with the Los Angeles Times reporting on the case of Sessions v. Binderup which he says “puts the new administration in a potentially awkward spot.” Suffice it to say it wouldn’t be the first time.