United States of Gerrymandering? Ripple Effects from State House to White House

The Purple Principle

“The Presidential race might get thrown into the House of Representatives,” says Dr. Sam Wang of the Princeton Gerrymandering Initiative in this episode. “And in the House of Representatives, every state gets one vote.”

Both a neuroscientist and recognized authority on gerrymandering, Wang is highlighting the connection between partisan gerrymanders in states throughout the country and following on effects at the national level in the US House but potentially also the White House.

“And certainly when I’ve done cases involving congressional delegations, a piece of it is the one Sam mentioned,” echoes Paul Smith, Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. “Who’s going to control the delegation for this particularly unusual house resolution of presidential elections?”

In this two-guest episode, we’ll discuss the strategies behind partisan gerrymanders and the leading defenses against them. These include lawsuits argued by Paul Smith and other litigators and the establishment of independent redistricting commissions at the state level.

“A well-crafted citizens commission that's non-partisan is always going to do a more fair and balanced job than a partisan legislature,” says Smith, citing the cases of California and Michigan.

“Right now, we’re stuck playing small ball, getting small things locally like, say, rank choice voting or redistricting reform,” explains Sam Wang, whose gerrymandering report cards are often cited in legal cases. “The long game is to start implementing some of the bigger reforms and repairs.”

Tune in for two informed views on how the tide is turning against partisan gerrymandering in critical states like Wisconsin and how plugging the gerrymander leak in one state prevents even more significant problems at the national level.

The Purple Principle is a Fluent Knowledge production; original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.

SHOW NOTES

Our Guests:

Sam Wang, Founder & Director, Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

Paul Smith, Senior Vice President Campaign Legal Center.

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Resources:

https://campaignlegal.org/

https://gerrymander.princeton.edu/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/11/09/house-democrats-got-more-votes-than-house-republicans-yet-boehner-says-hes-got-a-mandate/

https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/

https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congressional_elections_results,_2012

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/results/house.html

npost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-says-federal-courts-dont-have-a-role-in-deciding-partisan-gerrymandering-claims/2019/06/27/2fe82340-93ab-11e9-b58a-a6a9afaa0e3e_story.html

https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-and-referendum-states

https://www.michigan.gov/micrc/about/meet-the-commissioners

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-constitution/section-11.1

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/us/redistricting-map-utah-salt-lake-city.html

https://apnews.com/article/utah-redistricting-3cb3fb05e7253f3ec3d26749138bea9e

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/01/wisconsin-supreme-court-rejects-democrats-congressional-redistricting-challenge-00144529