On June 19, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay in Gill v Whitford, the Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering case. The vote was 5-4. The justices chosen by Democratic presidents were in the minority. This means that until the case is settled, the old districts will remain in effect. The stay came down about an hour after the court had agreed to hear the case. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
How come gerrymandering is unacceptable in Wisconsin, but courts threw out cases against the most gerrymandered districts of all, those in Maryland? (Check out Md-2 and Md-3, for example.)
Partisanship?
Because the “law” about whether gerrymandering is constitutionally acceptable or not is extremely vague, and thus judges have almost nothing to guide their decisions, except mainly their own subjective choices.