Mar 12 Watch 3:27 Texas gerrymandering discriminates against Hispanics, ruling says By PBS NewsHour A panel of federal judges in Texas is ordering the state to redraw its congressional district map because it discriminates against Hispanic voters. The judges ruled Friday that in 2011, Republican legislators engaged in gerrymandering on racial lines. The ruling… Continue watching
Mar 11 Federal judges find Texas gerrymandered maps on racial lines By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Federal judges found more problems in Texas' voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities. Continue reading
Sep 24 Watch 10:34 North Carolina and Maryland challenge gerrymandering By Sam Weber, Laura Fong Gerrymandering -- the practice of drawing districts to benefit one political party over another or to protect an incumbent -- has a long history in the U.S. Special Correspondent Jeff Greenfield reports on reform efforts in Maryland, where one district… Continue watching
Jun 29 Watch 6:40 Supreme Court ends term with rulings on EPA, voter redistricting and lethal injection By PBS NewsHour The Supreme Court ended a dramatic session with high-profile rulings on three issues: how the EPA regulates air pollution, how to map voting lines and the death penalty by lethal injection. Judy Woodruff learns more from Marcia Coyle of The… Continue watching
Mar 02 Watch 5:16 Supreme Court weighs process, not politics, of who draws voting maps By PBS NewsHour In 2000, Arizona voters changed who has the authority to draw district voting lines. Instead of the state legislature, an independent commission was created in an attempt to reduce partisanship. The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a clause in the… Continue watching
Mar 01 Supreme court to hear case on voter-approved redistricting By Mark Sherman, Associated Press In a reversal of the usual worries about political influence on electoral map-making, the Supreme Court is being asked to let raw politics play an even bigger role in the drawing of congressional district boundaries. Continue reading
Nov 12 Watch Supreme Court considers line between racial and partisan gerrymandering By PBS NewsHour After the 2010 census, the Republican-led Alabama legislature redrew state legislative districts. But their plan was challenged for being a racial gerrymander and violating voting rights. To examine the case's move to the Supreme Court, Marcia Coyle of The National… Continue watching
Aug 12 Watch States stretch the limits of geography for politically uniform districts By PBS NewsHour It’s no accident that 90 percent of Congress is re-elected every time; districts can be carefully drawn to protect incumbents. In Florida, a federal judge ruled that the design of two districts illegally favor sitting politicians, and ordered new maps… Continue watching
Jul 11 Judge rules Fla. Legislature broke laws on congressional district maps By Gary Fineout, Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida Legislature illegally drew the state's congressional districts to primarily benefit the Republican Party, a judge has ruled, and has ordered them redrawn. Continue reading
Mar 31 GOP gerrymandering creates uphill fight for Dems in the House By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Republican strategists spent years developing a plan to take advantage of the 2010 census, first by winning state legislatures and then redrawing House districts to tilt the playing field in their favor. Their success was unprecedented. Continue reading