The balance of political power across the nation is on the docket at the start of the Supreme Court’s Fall 2017 Term. The Justices, for the first time in over a decade, will be examining a case of partisan gerrymandering – where lawmakers draw district maps to give their party an advantage in an election. It’s not a partisan issue; both political parties currently have gerrymandering lawsuits filed against them.
In Wisconsin, Democratic voters filed a lawsuit against the Republican legislature after the 2012 election. That year the Republican party received 48.6% of the votes, but ended up with 60 out of the 99 seats. Those voters say their votes were silenced because no matter how many democrats voted there was only a limited number of seats they could win. The State of Wisconsin says lawmakers followed all the districting rules and there is no constitutional right to proportional representation. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, representing the state, and Campaign Legal Center’s Gerry Hebert, representing the plaintiffs, outline the arguments their sides will make before the Court.
Check out our previous coverage of the case and the extended interview.
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