And I'll say again
Hr1 needs to be passed. I don't care if Biden has to sign an executive order, that way no one will gerrymander. This is insanity and has to stop. The legislatures have shown they are not capable of drawing fair districts. I dont like when dems do it either, I know you have to fight fire with fire but it needs to stop nationwide.
It's actually a core point of the right-wing appelants. Courts have no power over redistricting, because that's a power vested in Congress only by the Elections Clause. The court didn't agree with the part about courts, but noted that the Congress had power to do various things related to elections, like VRA, the single-member seat mandate, abolishing literacy tests for voting...
One of the last sections of the judgement literaly states that the Congress has power to regulate gerrymanderers.
As noted, the Framers gave Congress the power to do something about partisan gerrymandering in the Elections Clause. The first bill introduced in the 116th Congress would require States to create 15-member independent commissions to draw congressional districts and would establish certain redistricting criteria, including protection for communities of interest, and ban partisan gerrymandering. H. R. 1, 116th Cong., 1st Sess., §§2401, 2411 (2019).
Dozens of other bills have been introduced to limit reliance on political considerations in redistricting. In 2010, H. R. 6250 would have required States to follow standards of compactness, contiguity, and respect for political subdivisions in redistricting. It also would have prohibited the establishment of congressional districts “with the major purpose of diluting the voting strength of any person, or group, including any political party,” except when necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. H. R. 6250, 111th Cong., 2d Sess., §2 (referred to committee).
Another example is the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act, which was introduced in 2005 and has been reintroduced in every Congress since. That bill would require every State to establish an independent commission to adopt redistricting plans. The bill also set forth criteria for the independent commissions to use, such as compactness, contiguity, and population equality. It would prohibit consideration of voting history, political party affiliation, or incumbent Representative’s residence. H. R. 2642, 109th Cong., 1st Sess., §4 (referred to subcommittee).
We express no view on any of these pending proposals. We simply note that the avenue for reform established by the Framers, and used by Congress in the past, remains open.
