Control of Congressional Redistricting as of 2018 elections

[jimrtex]

So far, I've got this:

Red = full Democratic control
Blue = full Republican control
Green = mixed or non-partisan commission
Gray = at-large seat

Or are there any new states with commissions?

Maryland is under court order to redraw its congressional districts by 2020.

[jimrtex]

- IA has a strong commission. As said, by others, it will be respected but like all commissions, still be influenced by the republican majority.

Iowa is literally a computer that draws the lines at random.

False and false.

Maps are drawn by the legislative staff. The legislature may reject a map, but they have to give a reason. In the past, they voted down a map because it had too much deviation. It may be that they didn't like the first map for other reasons, but it was true that the second map had less deviation.

[jimrtex]

- IA has a strong commission. As said, by others, it will be respected but like all commissions, still be influenced by the republican majority.

Iowa is literally a computer that draws the lines at random.

False and false.

Maps are drawn by the legislative staff. The legislature may reject a map, but they have to give a reason. In the past, they voted down a map because it had too much deviation. It may be that they didn't like the first map for other reasons, but it was true that the second map had less deviation.

This is the commission and how it's chosen:

one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa State Senate
one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa State Senate
one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
one member selected by the first four members

Members of the commission cannot hold partisan public office or an office in a political party, and none may be a relative or employee of a federal or state legislator (or the legislature as a whole).

I don't believe calling them "legislative staff" is accurate.   The Iowa legislature can reject the commisssion's maps,  but they can't put in changes to it,  they just have the commission draw a new map.

See Chapter 42 of the Iowa Code.

Maps are drawn by the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), which is the nonpartisan staff for the legislature. Some readers may project "legislative staff" to mean partisan hacks based on the experience in their own state.

The role of the temporary redistricting advisory commission is quite limited.

(1) Provide direction to the LSA when there is a question about an interpretation of the redistricting standards in Section 42.4.

(2) Determine policies regarding information that the LSA may release outside the LSA prior to delivery of the plan to the legislature (this would include the legislative members, the press and the general public). A specific exception is the census data itself which may be released.

(3) Schedule and conduct at least three public hearings on the plan that the LSA has drawn, and prepare a report on the hearings for the legislature.

[jimrtex]

So far, I've got this:

Red = full Democratic control
Blue = full Republican control
Green = mixed or non-partisan commission
Gray = at-large seat

Or are there any new states with commissions?

Maryland is under court order to redraw its congressional districts by 2020.

That will get appealed to SCOTUS.  It's a partisan gerrymandering case, so if they rule against Maryland, congressional maps would need to be redrawn for 2020 in upwards of half the states.

The governor doesn't want to appeal. The election authorities are neutral. The DNC will want the precedent. If Maryland loses, federal criminal civil rights charges might be brought against individual bad actors like Mile Miller, Martin O'Malley, and Steny Hoyer.

[jimrtex]

Maryland's AG has already appealed to SCOTUS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/maryland-will-appeal-partisan-gerrymandering-decision-to-supreme-court/2018/11/15/e934edfa-e6af-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html

If their map is overturned, they will make sure every map in the country where the process was controlled by one party is overturned. 

Maybe I should send these to Gov. Hogan

[jimrtex]

Any maps for Governor Cooper?

I’m assuming this goes to the 4th Circuit first before SCOTUS, which has binding precedent over VA, WV, NC, and SC as well as MD. Last time I checked, Maryland is not the only one of those states that is visciously gerrymandered. Ultimately, this should go to SCOTUS anyway. If there is going to be a constitutional claim against partisan gerrymandering, it should apply to all 50 states. In spite of MD, I do hope we can get a broad ruling. With the current composition of the Court, I’m not optimistic.

Redistricting cases are automatically* heard by a three-judge panel, which includes a judge from the district where the case is being heard, another district judge from the circuit (often, though not necessarily from a different state or district), and a judge from the appeals court. The two additional judges are assigned by the chief judge of the circuit.

Appeals are directly to the SCOTUS.

*originally the district judge had refused to request a 3-judge panel, in essence saying that the suit was frivolous. The SCOTUS ordered that there be a 3-judge panel.

O'Malley was a prick in his deposition. He was asked where he lived, and he said in the "land of the free and the home of the brave". His phone went off and he apologized saying that he used to have 27,000 employees to take care of things like that. I was disappointed when after asking when he was governor, they didn't brightly ask, "You're no longer governor?"

[jimrtex]

Any maps for Governor Cooper?

The governor in North Carolina has no responsibility for redistricting. He can't even call the legislature into special session by himself.

This is what I would recommend for the legislature.

[jimrtex]

Maybe the Republican SCOTUS majority will just vote down Democratic gerrymanders and not bother with setting precedents.

Two of the judges said Maryland's action was retaliatory. In effect, the O'Malley-Miller-Hoyer gang deliberately sought to injure the civil rights of some citizens merely because they were Republican.