“When politicians on either side of the aisle are able to manipulate voting maps to favor themselves and their interests, it makes our government less responsive to our wants and needs.”
The Supreme Court is set to take on its biggest case in recent memory. The justices will review gerrymandering and a case from Wisconsin in which lower courts ruled that gerrymandering efforts violated the Constitution. Gerrymandering is a process by which election districts are drawn up to favor specific parties and politicians. In effect, gerrymandering can be used to suppress voters and even negate their voting power altogether.
The Supreme Court has already ruled that too much gerrymandering is unconstitutional. However, the specifics of what counts as “too much” have long been hazy. Back in 1986, the Supreme Court ruled during the Davis v. Bandemer case that gerrymandering could violate the equal protection clause, which forbids states from denying any person “the equal protection of the laws.”
Initially, the clause was written to ensure that African Americans were given full protection under the letter of the law. The Supreme Court has generally interpreted the protections provided to be quite sweeping. School desegregation, for example, was spurred on by a Supreme Court decision that concluded that segregated schools denied minorities equal protection.
While the Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering could violate the Equal Protection Clause, it also stipulated that certain thresholds must be breached. These thresholds, however, were not determined during the Davis v. Bandemer (1986) case. Now, the Supreme Court will likely clarify them in its upcoming case.
Both Democrats and Republicans have gerrymandered districts when they have had the power to do so. With Republicans controlling so many state governments, this means that recent years have seen very strong GOP gerrymandering efforts. Regardless of which party is doing the gerrymandering, however, the disenfranchisement caused weakens our democracy and makes our politicians less responsive to the will of the people.
Up until now, most gerrymandering decisions have been based on race. In other words, were minorities seeing their influence and votes reduced due to gerrymandering? Now, the Supreme Court will consider partisan gerrymandering. Could Republican or Democrat voters be losing their power and influence? And if so, does this violate the Constitution? These issues will soon be debated.
Lower courts previously ruled against Republicans in Wisconsin, arguing that the maps drawn up in 2011 violated the Constitution. However, make no mistake—this potential ruling could have big implications for both parties. With the next consensus fast approaching in 2020, the Supreme Court’s ruling could have a very large impact in the not-so-distant future. The case will be heard in October.
While it’s tempting to view gerrymandering with a partisan lens, it’s important to remember that voting and democracy are essential to America. Disenfranchising voters for any reason makes our country less democratic and weaker. Further, when politicians on either side of the aisle are able to manipulate voting maps to favor themselves and their interests, it makes our government less responsive to our wants and needs.
