Rigged or Right: Reactions to SCOTUS Ruling On Redistricting

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it cannot judge if extreme partisan gerrymandering violates the constitution. This 5-4 ruling along conservative-liberal ideological lines allows Ohio and some other states to continue using current congressional maps through the 2020 election. 

"We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts," Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the conservative majority. "Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions."

The court considered a Maryland case, where Democrats who controlled the state legislature drew lines for congressional districts that eliminated two Republican seats in the U.S. House and a North Carolina case where Republicans used the same methods to limit Democratic power.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said he was surprised by the ruling but not disappointed.

“This is also one of the many reasons I think Mitch McConnell was so intent on keeping Merrick Garland from being a Supreme Court Justice because it is a 5-4 case. The divide is very clear and that would have changed the outcome of this case. So it’s disappointing that we will now be stuck with rigged elections,” Pepper said.

The appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh is thought to have swung the court in a more conservative direction. His predecessor, Justice Anthony Kennedy was thought to be more open to acting on gerrymandering cases.

Calls have been placed to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for comment. This story will be updated as more material becomes available.

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