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U.S. NEWS Friday 28 June 2019

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GERRYMANDERING erals, Justice Elena Kagan
Continued from Front wrote, "For the first time
Redistricting will next take ever, this court refuses to
place in 2021, once 2020 remedy a constitutional vio-
census results are available. lation because it thinks the
In another politically task beyond judicial capa-
charged case decided bilities." Kagan, in mournful
Thursday, the court blocked tones, read a summary of
for now the Trump adminis- her dissent in court to em-
tration's effort to add a citi- phasize her disagreement.
zenship question to the next Partisan gerrymandering at
census. It's unclear whether its most extreme "amounts
the Trump administration to 'rigging elections,'" Ka-
has time to address the gan wrote, quoting retired
court's concerns. Printing of Justice Anthony Kennedy in
census forms is supposed to a case from 2004.
begin next week. The practice allows politi-
Chief Justice John Roberts cians to "cherry-pick voters
wrote the majority opinion to ensure their reelection,"
in both cases, siding with she wrote.
the liberals on the census Advances in technology
and the conservatives on have allowed map-mak-
redistricting. Although the ers to draw districts with
chief justice often seeks increasing precision, and
broader coalitions for rela- advocates of limiting par-
tively narrow decisions, he tisan districting have said
ended up writing a sweep- the problem will grow even
ing redistricting opinion worse in the redistricting
that drew an impassioned that follows the 2020 cen-
dissent from the liberal jus- sus. One party can exag-
tices. gerate and entrench its
Voters and elected officials power, even in states that
should be the arbiters of are otherwise closely divid-
what is a political dispute, ed between Republicans
Roberts said in his opinion and Democrats. In this April 1, 2019, file photo, Mindy Nagel points to her home on a congressional district map of
for the court. Federal courts Federal courts in five states her neighborhood in Cincinnati. Nagel's home is split by two House districts.
are the wrong place to set- had concluded that redis- Associated Press
tle these disputes, he said. tricting plans put in place
"We have never struck under one party's control The court was examin- the court last year was a Among those are challeng-
down a partisan gerryman- could go too far and that ing two cases, from Mary- major setback to propo- es in state courts, includ-
der as unconstitutional_de- there were ways to identify land and North Carolina, nents of limits. He had kept ing a pending North Caro-
spite various requests over and manage excessively with strong evidence that the Supreme Court open lina lawsuit. Those court
the past 45 years. The ex- partisan districts. Those elected officials charged to the possibility, though he challenges can only work,
pansion of judicial author- courts included 15 federal with drawing and approv- never voted to strike down though, in places that have
ity would not be into just judges appointed by Re- ing congressional districts a district as too partisan. state constitutional provi-
any area of controversy, publican and Democratic acted for maximum par- Justice Brett Kavanaugh, sions that allow for them.
but into one of the most presidents reaching back tisan advantage. In North Kennedy's replacement, That's how state court judg-
intensely partisan aspects to Jimmy Carter. Carolina, Republicans ran was part of Thursday's ma- es in Pennsylvania struck
of American political life," But the five Republican-ap- the process and sought to jority. down Republican-drawn
Roberts wrote. pointed justices decided preserve a 10-3 split in the Proponents of limiting par- congressional districts and
The court rejected chal- otherwise. congressional delegation tisan gerrymandering still redrew the congressional
lenges to Republican- The decision effectively re- in favor of the GOP, even have several routes open. map in 2018.q
drawn congressional dis- verses the outcome of rul- as statewide races are usu-
tricts in North Carolina and ings in Maryland, Michigan, ally closely divided. In Mary- CAR RENTAL 5616944
a Democratic district in North Carolina and Ohio, land, Democrats controlled
Maryland. where courts had ordered redistricting and sought to Address: Paramira #30 (Oranjestad) - Email: yessrentalcar@gmail.com - Website: www.yessrentalcar.com
"Our conclusion does not new maps drawn, and flip one district that had
We Rent:
condone excessive parti- ends proceedings in Wis- been represented by a Re- Cars- Vans - SUV
san gerrymandering," Rob- consin, where a retrial was publican for 20 years.
erts wrote, acknowledging supposed to take place this Both plans succeeded, and
that the North Carolina and summer after the Supreme lower courts concluded
Maryland maps are "highly Court last year threw out that the districts violated
partisan." a decision on procedural the Constitution.
In a dissent for the four lib- grounds. Kennedy's retirement from