Democrats in three states have sued to halt the drawing of congressional districts using old maps; instead, the suits argue, the districts should be drawn using updated demographic and population data released by the Census this week.
From Bloomberg:
Voters in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Louisiana are seeking court orders to permanently stop the use of outdated maps in any future elections and the drawing up of new maps in time for the 2022 elections.
The Pennsylvania voters said there’s no reasonable prospect its political branches will be able to reach a consensus to enact a congressional district plan. Republicans hold majorities, though not veto-proof majorities, in both chambers of the General Assembly, and Governor Tom Wolf, who has veto power, is a Democrat.
“Given the long and acrimonious history of partisan gerrymandering litigation challenging Pennsylvania’s previous congressional district map, it is clear that Pennsylvania’s political branches are extremely unlikely to agree to a new congressional district plan prior to the 2022 election,” the voters said in the complaint.
Similarly, voters in Minnesota and Louisiana said in their suits that it’s improbable the political branches in those states would be able to agree on a new redistricting plan. In Minnesota, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party controls the House, while Republicans control the Senate and the governor is a member of DFL. In Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is a Democrat, while the House and the Senate are both controlled by Republicans.
