Alaska takes stand against gerrymandering

Alaska has joined 16 other states and the District of Columbia in an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that extreme partisan gerrymandering, which occurs when electoral maps are redrawn for the sole benefit of one political party, violates the U.S. Constitution.

“Drawing district lines only to maximize one political party’s power, without any other reasonable justification, is a disservice to the voters and to democracy,” Gov. Bill Walker said.

In the underlying case of Gill v. Whitford, a federal court ruled that a redistricting plan created by the Wisconsin legislature was unconstitutional because it was drawn only for the purpose of keeping the dominant political party in power.

The amicus brief recognizes that political considerations can play a legitimate role in the redistricting process, which must take place every 120 years to ensure that electoral maps are consistent with the most recent census date, said Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth.

The brief also recognizes that many states have experimented with ways to reduce the influence of partisanship in the redistricting process.

The states’ brief argues that a redistricting plan is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander only if it was chosen for the purpose of maximizing a political party’s advantage and would have the effect of entrenching the party in power for several election cycles even if the party lost popular support. The brief concludes that under this standard Wisconsin’s current redistricting plan is unconstitutional.

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Also filing amicus briefs on Sept. 5 were Oregon, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

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