Has the Tide Turned Against Partisan Gerrymandering?

Across the nation, judges are discovering that if you look for it, partisan gerrymandering actually is all around you.

Courts have historically been reluctant to strike down redistricting plans on the basis of political bias—unwilling to appear to be favoring one party—but Monday afternoon, the Pennsylvania state supreme court ruled that the state’s maps for U.S. House violate the state constitution’s guarantees of free expression and association and of equal protection.

That follows a ruling earlier this month in North Carolina, in which a federal court struck down the state’s, the first time a federal court had ruled a redistricting plan represented an unconstitutional gerrymander. The decision was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is already considering another partisan gerrymandering case from Wisconsin. The court has also agreed to hear another case, from Maryland, and a case from Texas on procedural grounds.