2024 Redistricting Roundup

According to multiple media outlets the national congressional map improved in Republicans’ favor.

The House map was already skewed to the GOP. Now it’s even worse. - Daily Kos Elections

The fight to flip the House just got harder for Dems. And they have New York to blame. - Politico

News From the States

Florida: A federal court upheld Florida’s congressional map ruling 3-0 in Common Cause Florida v. Byrd that it does not violate the 14th or 15th Amendments.

Louisiana: A three-judge panel is set to hear arguments April 8-10 on the constitutionality of its new congressional map. The case is Callais v. Landry.

Michigan: The MICRC’s remedial state house map was approved by a federal court. The MICRC then gave themselves a 40% raise and elected a new chair.

Minnesota: DFL lawmakers are considering a constitutional amendment to create a redistricting commission.

Mississippi: A federal trial was held over Mississippi’s legislative maps. The case is Miss. State Conference of the NAACP v. State Board of Election Commissioners.

North Carolina: A panel of federal judges consolidated two redistricting cases. A separate panel affirmed a lower court’s decision to allow North Carolina to hold its 2024 state senate elections under its newly enacted map. The cases are available here.

Ohio: The fight over a redistricting amendment could attract national attention.

South Carolina: The state will use its enacted congressional plan in 2024 after a federal panel modified a previous order that blocked the map. A Supreme Court opinion in Alexander v. S.C. State Conference of the NAACP is expected by the end of June.

Washington: A federal judge imposed a state legislative map that reduced its Hispanic population in order to remedy an alleged Voting Rights Act violation. Intervenor-Defendants quickly filed an emergency application for a stay of judgment and injunction now pending before the Supreme Court. The case is Trevino v. Palmer.

Census Bureau News

The Census Bureau will combine the race and ethnicity questions, add a Middle Eastern and North African category, and let respondents select multiple categories.

Updates to the American Redistricting Project

Blog: ARP has a new blog series diving into the Detailed Ancestry Characteristics available in the 2020 Census Data. New posts are available for New York and Florida.

Litigation: 52 active lawsuits are currently being tracked. Highlights include:

• Callais v. Landry - the challenge to Louisiana’s new congressional map.
• Petteway v. Galveston County - The En Banc Fifth Circuit is set to hear oral arguments next month in an appeal over Galveston County’s commissioners court districts.
• Chisom v. Louisiana - The En Banc Fifth Circuit is set to hear oral arguments in May in an appeal over dissolving a decades-old consent decree governing Louisiana’s Supreme Court elections.