Lawsuit Based on Stephanopoulos's "Partisan Gerrymandering and the Efficiency Gap" Clears Major Hurdle
Federal Judges Leave Open Challenge to State Redistricting
In a case that could establish a new standard for how courts decide when partisan legislative redistricting crosses the line of constitutionality cleared a major hurdle Thursday.
A federal court allowed a lawsuit to proceed that claims that Republican-drawn legislative district maps are unconstitutional.
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The judges focused on the "efficiency gap," a metric meant to measure so-called wasted votes in an election, like the high number of votes for a losing Democrat in a district drawn to favor Republicans, as well as votes in districts where the Democrat wins with over 80% of the vote.
For 40 years, the gap in statehouse or assembly plans was close to zero nationwide, the court said, but has now spiked to more than 6%.
Ed. note: Read Professor Stephanopoulos's paper on which the lawsuit is based, Partisan Gerrymandering and the Efficiency Gap.
Read more at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel