The U.S. Supreme Court decided states do have the authority to take congressional redistricting power from state legislatures and delegate it to independent commissions. In one of the final three cases of its term, the Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the lower court’s ruling in Arizona State Legislature vs. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
The question before the court involved whether Arizonans violated the U.S. Constitution by amending their state’s constitution to place congressional districting power in the hands of an independent commission. As the Oyez Project noted, the Arizona constitution gave its legislature the ability to draw congressional districts, but in 2000 voters amended the state’s constitution. Proposition 106 took congressional redistricting power away from the legislature and granted it to a new group, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which is made up of two Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent.
The Supreme Court decision follows intensely controversial moments in the state of Arizona, including when former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer sought to remove the commission’s chairwoman. Arizona Republicans believe the commission had drawn districts in a way that favored Democrats, in light of an additional seat in Congress because of the state’s population growth.
The court’s decision in Arizona’s case could have lasting implications for several other states that also rely upon similar commissions to some degree, including California. The decision could ultimately impact up to 152 districts, as NPR noted.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority, while Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Alito dissented.
