The Supreme Court is allowing California to use its new congressional map for this year’s midterm election, clearing the way for the state’s gerrymandered districts as Democrats and Republicans continue their fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The state’s voters approved the redistricting plan last year as a Democratic counterresponse to Texas’ new GOP-friendly map, which President Trump pushed for to help Republicans hold on to their narrow majority in the House.

And in an unsigned order released Wednesday, the high court’s majority denied an emergency request by the California’s Republican Party to block the redistricting plan. The state’s GOP argued that the map violated the U.S. Constitution because its creation was mainly driven by race, not partisan politics. A lower federal court rejected that claim.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    The weird thing is this CA law removed anti-gerrymandering laws. We had a legal barrier here in CA, but this law was to remove that barrier so we could counter TX. It sucked voting for it.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      20 hours ago

      Yeah this was definitely a race for the bottom, but unfortunately a necessary one. Michelle Obama’s idea of “when they go low, we go high” only works if your opponent has a miniscule amount of morals or shame.

      • thlibos@thelemmy.club
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        10 hours ago

        Michelle Obama’s idea of “when they go low, we go high” only works if your opponent hasvoters have a miniscule amount of morals or shame.

        FTFY

      • Hayduke@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        It only works when the voters notice/care. If they did, the Republican Party would have died after GWB.

    • Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      From what I’ve read the barrier wasn’t actually removed, so much as putting it on pause for a time. This map will only be in place until 2030 when the maps were going to be redrawn anyway, at which point the new map will be created using the standard anti-gerrymandering method.

    • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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      20 hours ago

      It’s not weird if you start with the premise of Democrats being just as dirty and underhanded as Republicans. Both these private organizations benefit from this. The people, not so much.

      • TheRealKuni@piefed.social
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        19 hours ago

        Dirty and underhanded? Sure. “Just as” dirty and underhanded? No.

        The world is not black and white. People are not either pure or utterly corrupt. Everything is a spectrum, everything a matter of degree.

        • thlibos@thelemmy.club
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          10 hours ago

          Agreed. The instant pivot to “both-sides-ism” by so many people is a big part of the reason we are where we are today. Always mentioning Ds in the same breath whenever the Rs corruption or crime is discussed (when Rs are many orders of magnitude worse) is the textbook definition.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          19 hours ago

          Interesting that you want to argue that the world isn’t black and white while arguing that simple party affiliation determines whether someone deserves sympathy or villification for the same action.

          This is a very “only the Sith deal in absolutes!” type of statement.

          • TheRealKuni@piefed.social
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            19 hours ago

            Interesting that you want to argue that the world isn’t black and white while arguing that simple party affiliation determines whether someone deserves sympathy or villification for the same action.

            This is a very “only the Sith deal in absolutes!” type of statement.

            Nonsense. No one is arguing that “simple party affiliation” is what makes gerrymandering okay.

            California’s law specifically triggered only if Texas went through with their proposed gerrymander. It also has an expiration date following the 2030 census, at which point the California Citizens Redistricting Commission will resume their duties.

            These are not the same. If you cannot see the difference, you are either a zealot or arguing in poor faith.

            • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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              17 hours ago

              You’re arguing that people are more dirty and underhanded if they’re Republican which completely contradicts your earlier statement about things not being “black and white.”

              And yes, you and many others are arguing that it’s okay because it helps Democrats whether you want to admit (or even realize) that this is the root of your argument or not.

              California’s law specifically triggered only if Texas went through with their proposed gerrymander.

              Which was only possible due to state Democrats showing up to the Texas legislature and giving the Republicans the quorum they needed to pass the vote. There’s no “only if” when the outcome was a foregone conclusion. This is just slimy language to put the onus on Republicans for what’s happening despite them being unable to do it without the assistance of Democrats.

              also has an expiration date following the 2030 census, at which point the California Citizens Redistricting Commission will resume their duties.

              So “bad deeds” today with the promise that things will be “put right” at some point far into the future? I can’t believe people can’t see through bullshit like this by now as politicians use this tactic constantly. It should be Chuck Schumer’s catch phrase by now.

              Please tell me you realize these are not the same. If you cannot see the difference, you are either a zealot or arguing in poor faith.

              If there’s such a stark and obvious difference, why is your whole argument based on faith and subjectivity? Faith they’ll make it right in the future. Belief that they’re the good guys, so they’re doing it for a ‘good’ reason. You want to argue that things aren’t black and white and it’s not about party affiliation yet that’s exactly what “the difference” appears to be. Where’s the objectivity?

              Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement after the Supreme Court handed down an opinion in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek, which deals with the constitutionality of and judicial role in partisan gerrymandering:

              "The Supreme Court’s ruling strikes at the very heart of our American democracy. As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent, the Court’s role in our system of government ‘is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections.’

              "This ruling greenlights the unjust and deeply dangerous practice of gerrymandering, which robs Americans of their right to have an equal voice in their government. Traditionally underserved communities, especially communities of color, risk losing the representation and resources they rightfully deserve.

              “The Congress must act. This year, the Democratic Majority passed H.R. 1, the For The People Act, which works to end to partisan gerrymandering by requiring all states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions to draw open and transparent statewide district maps after each Census. We will continue to fight partisan gerrymandering, ensure every citizen’s vote counts and oppose any attempt to compromise the integrity of our democracy.”

              https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-the-supreme-court-s-decisions-in-gerrymandering-cases

              Do you agree that gerrymandering is unjust and deeply dangerous to democracy, robbing people of their right to have an equal voice or is that only true when Republicans do it? Democrats had the power to stop this in Texas before it ever happened, yet they chose to not only aid Republicans in their quest to gerrymander but also engage in it themselves. This is why I don’t see any difference.

      • gustofwind@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        It’s weird because Dems have been the ones making all the anti gerrymandering laws lmao

        Takes a very low iq to understand both sides being the same

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          19 hours ago

          Of course because it’s good PR, and then later when they don’t want to be constricted by such rules, they just write new laws to nullify it.

          The result is effectively the same as if they’d never passed these anti-gerrymandering laws in the first place, yet the sycophants eat this stuff up despite getting absolutely nothing from it.

          Don’t forget that the Texas legislature was only able to gerrymander due to Texas Dems showing up and giving them a quorum.

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        Democrats vote for something that should not benefit them and benefits the people as a whole. Republicans do something that makes a change necessary. Democrats vote to TEMPORARILY undo that benefit for the people with a time-based reenacting of the benefit.

        You: BOTH SIDES!!

        Democrats try to vote for ranked choice voting in some states. Republicans push to outlaw that for the entire country.

        You: BOTH SIDES!!

        • thlibos@thelemmy.club
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          10 hours ago

          Indeed. 40 years ago bothsidesism could have been an intellectually honest take. If you are doing it today, you are either very stupid or nothing more than a concern troll.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          17 hours ago

          Its funny you menting RCV because that was on the ballot here in Oregon last election and it failed by a 15 point margin because it got little support outside of citizen-lead efforts. State Dems of course want credit for putting it on the ballot despite abandoning their efforts after that and allowing disinformation to run rampant in the weeks and months leading up to election day. Dems have controlled the state for generations now, so why change a system that works for them?