On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill: The redistricting wars reach new heights as both sides notch victories in a chaotic week that included a major Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting. Charlie and SoRelle break down the difference between reapportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering (they’re not all the same thing!), explain packing versus cracking, and why we’re talking about maps in the middle of a decade when this is supposed to happen every ten years. Plus, what does the Supreme Court’s decision mean for racial gerrymandering going forward?
Then, in the Gavel Drop: Republicans are floating a plan to send Arlington and Alexandria — two actual cities in Virginia — over to DC for wild reasons; plus, the House and Senate can’t work together despite being controlled by the same party, and Lauren Boebert announces there are only “two and a half good senators” (who’s the half?).
This week’s syllabus 📚
“Gerrymandering Explained” (Michael Li, Brennan Center for Justice)
“Supreme Court invalidates Louisiana congressional map over race” (Michael Macagnone, Roll Call)
“DeSantis Proposes Florida House Map That Could Add Four Republican Seats” (Patricia Mazzei and Nick Corasaniti, New York Times)
Florida passes DeSantis’ redistricting map that could net the GOP 4 seats (Gary Fineout and Kylie Williams, POLITICO)
“New Lines, New Districts, New Representation: Institutional Impacts of Congressional Redistricting” (SoRelle Gaynor and Sam Hayes, Political Research Quarterly)
NCSL, “Changing the Maps: Tracking Mid-Decade Redistricting”
“Trump has a bold option to counter Virginia’s new gerrymander scheme” (Chad R. Mizelle, Fox News)
“Make Greater D.C. Again? GOP embraces bid to add Arlington and Alexandria to the capital” (Martin Austermuhle, The 51st)
