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Friday 29 april 2022
Continued from Front There's even more uncer-
The biggest test of this po- tainty over the legal land-
tential legal asymmetry scape of redistricting this
comes in Florida, where cycle because the conser-
Democrats and civil rights vative majority on the U.S.
groups are challenging a Supreme Court has indicat-
congressional map that ed it may rewrite the rules
Republican Gov. Ron De- that govern the drawing of
Santis pushed through the legislative districts. In Febru-
GOP-controlled legislature ary, conservatives on the
there. Legislators had ini- court said they may revise
tially balked at the map, the standards on how to
which aggressively favors draw districts that comply
their party, because it dis- with the Voting Right Act's
mantles two plurality-Black requirement that minorities
districts in possible viola- get a chance to choose
tion of the state's Fair Dis- their own representatives
tricts Amendment, which and are not simply scat-
requires lawmakers to draw tered among voters of
districts that let racial and other races. And in March,
linguistic minorities pick four conservative justices
their chosen representa- indicated they wanted to
tives. consider Republican law-
Republicans insist they've Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, at podium, speaks against congressional maps alongside local yers' arguments that only
followed the law in Florida, and state lawmakers, Monday, April 18, 2022, at the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami. state legislatures — and not
though many legal experts Associated Press state courts — have the say
disagree. in drawing congressional
"This is not a difficult legal to a combination of GOP lous state where the party and for redistricting reform. maps.
question," said Douglas success in state elections controlled line-drawing But Li noted state courts Still, redistricting reformers
Spencer, a law professor and that Democrats' re- and one where it stood to have vulnerabilities that said they remain heart-
at the University of Colo- form push has led them to net as many as four House the federal system doesn't ened by how courts per-
rado-Boulder. "It would be cede line-drawing power seats in its partisan map. have. The composition of formed in this cycle so far.
a complete abdication of to independent commis- The recent flurry of state many state courts change Suzanne Almeida of Com-
the rule of law if they take sions in states they control, court actions are due to from election to election, mon Cause, a frequent liti-
the most gerrymandered like Colorado. a legal ruling at the tail making rulings in places gant opposing gerryman-
map in American history But Democrats were rela- end of the last redistricting like North Carolina and ders, noted that courts in
and let it stand." tively successful, shifting the cycle. In 2019, the U.S. Su- Ohio dependent on which- Republican states like Ohio
Spencer said he's optimis- typical House seat close to preme Court's conservative ever party has the political have joined ones in deep
tic Florida's state supreme President Joe Biden's five- majority ruled that federal winds at its back in Novem- Democratic states like New
court will ultimately strike point margin of victory in courts have no role in po- ber. State courts are also York in striking down parti-
down the map but notes 2020. Until the end of the licing partisan gerryman- uneven — in some states san maps.
he's in a minority among New York and Florida liti- ders, or maps drawn explic- such as New York they ag- "If I ran the world," Almeida
redistricting experts. That's gation, it's impossible to itly to benefit one party by gressively strike down ger- said, there'd be national
because six of the seven precisely evaluate how contorting lines to capture rymanders, while in places standards against ger-
members of the state su- the party did, but it's likely enough of its voters to reli- like Texas, the state su- rymandering to ensure
preme court were appoint- the map will still lean more ably win elections. preme court is so conserva- skewed maps in one big
ed by Republican gover- toward Democrats than That kicked redistricting tive that civil rights groups state don't tilt the entire
nors. after 2010, when Republi- litigation into state courts. have routinely not even congressional map. But a
Democrats began the cans used their statehouse "State courts have in a lot bothered to ask it for help, Democratic proposal for
once-a-decade redistrict- dominance to try to lock in of ways been the hero this instead going to federal just that foundered in Con-
ing cycle anxiously, with a House majority through cycle," said Michael Li of courts to challenge maps gress earlier this year. So,
Republicans in control of partisan maps. But much of the Brennan Center for So- drawn by the GOP-con- Almeida said, "we are tak-
drawing vastly more con- Democrats' gains came in cial Justice, which argues trolled legislature in recent ing the wins that we can
gressional seats. That's due New York, the most popu- against gerrymandering decades. take."q

Biden taking 'hard look' at student

loan forgiveness

day that he's "taking a hard Cardenas, D-Calif., said debt forgiveness," he said.
look" at canceling addi- afterwards that Biden dis- "And I'll have an answer
tional federal student loan closed he was exploring on that in the next couple
debt and will reach a deci- the possibility. of weeks." During his cam-
sion within a month. However, Biden signaled in paign, Biden said he want-
"I am considering dealing his Thursday remarks that ed to "immediately cancel"
with some debt reduc- he wouldn't go as far as at least $10,000 in student
tion," Biden told reporters in some activists want, say- debt per person. So far he's
the Roosevelt Room at the ing $50,000 in debt forgive- repeatedly extended a
White House. ness was not under con- pause on requiring borrow-
The comments came days sideration. He did not give ers to repay their loans, a
President Joe Biden speaks about the war in Ukraine in the
Roosevelt Room at the White House, Thursday, April 28, 2022, in after Biden had a private a number for what he was moratorium that was put in
Washington. meeting with Democratic considering. place under then-President
Associated Press lawmakers who pressed "I'm in the process of taking Donald Trump near the be-
him on the issue. One of a hard look at whether or ginning of the COVID-19
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- dent Joe Biden said Thurs- the lawmakers, Rep. Tony not there will be additional pandemic.q