Significant Mapping Developments
Kentucky
Kentucky’s state legislature passed congressional and legislative plans and sent them to the Governor for his signature.
Florida
A Florida Senate subcommittee advanced two draft congressional and state Senate redistricting plans for the full committee’s consideration.
Louisiana
State lawmakers will convene in an extraordinary session on February 1 to complete congressional and legislative redistricting.
Maryland
Maryland’s Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission advanced a final legislative redistricting proposal to the full General Assembly.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s House passed a congressional redistricting plan and sent it to the Senate.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s state House passed congressional and state house redistricting plans and sent them to the state Senate.
New York
New York’s state legislature rejected the state’s redistricting commission’s first set of proposed congressional and legislative plans.
Ohio
The Ohio Supreme Court struck down Ohio’s legislative redistricting plans for violating the Ohio Constitution’s partisan fairness and proportionality provisions and gave the commission 10 days to draw new maps.
Important Dates
This Week
Maryland – 1/12: Governor’s deadline to submit proposed legislative plans to the General Assembly
Tennessee – 1/12: Tentative date for release of state House redistricting committee’s proposed redistricting plans
Pennsylvania – 1/18: Legislative commission’s deadline for revisions to preliminary legislative plans
Connecticut – 1/18: Special Master’s deadline to submit plan to Connecticut Supreme Court
Arizona – 1/18: Tentative date for final maps certification vote
Next Week
Missouri – 1/23: Commission’s deadline to file final legislative redistricting plans
New York – 1/25: Commission’s deadline to submit second proposed congressional and legislative plans to the state legislature
National News
2020 Census
Robert Santos was sworn in as the new director of the U.S. Census Bureau.
State News
Connecticut
Connecticut’s court-appointed special master asked Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise on the state’s congressional plan.
Georgia
Several voting rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging Georgia’s enacted congressional plan as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Hawaii
Hawaii’s state legislative redistricting process was upended after discrepancies in resident population totals were found between the Reapportionment Commission’s and the Department of Defense’s adjusted population data sets.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court declined a request to assume jurisdiction over the congressional redistricting deadlock suit currently pending in a state trial court, but left open the possibility of hearing it at a later date.
New Jersey
Republicans challenging New Jersey’s adopted congressional plan amended their suit to include claims against the tie-breaking members’ alleged conflicts of interest.
North Carolina
A North Carolina state lawmaker stated in a deposition that “concept maps” were used in the course of developing the state’s redistricting plans, but those maps had since been destroyed. A panel of N.C. Superior Court judges rejected partisan and racial gerrymandering challenges to the state’s enacted congressional and legislative plans, teeing up an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Rhode Island
In a compromise vote, Rhode Island’s advisory redistricting commission recommended that the General Assembly reallocate state inmates to their prior home addresses if their sentences are expected to last less than 2 years.
South Carolina
State Republican legislative leaders are seeking the recusal of a federal judge assigned to the suit challenging the state’s enacted legislative plans, citing his prior involvement in redistricting challenges.
Washington
Two lawsuits challenging the Washington redistricting commission’s adopted redistricting plans and meeting procedures will proceed through state trial courts after Washington’s Supreme Court declined to consolidate and assume jurisdiction over them.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court rejected a request by Republican members of Congress to submit a second proposed redistricting plan for the court’s consideration but permitted other parties to submit substantially “corrected” versions of their plans.