Prominent Republicans Urge Supreme Court to End Gerrymandering
“Democrats rigged the maps in Illinois, Maryland and Rhode Island, while Republicans
did so in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.”
The Supreme Court, which has never struck down an election map as a political gerrymander, will consider a case challenging the voting districts
for Wisconsin’s State Assembly drawn after Republicans gained complete control of the state government for the first time in more than 40 years.
Its president, Trevor Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said he was “pleased,
but not surprised, to see many of America’s most accomplished Republican leaders urging the Supreme Court to rein in excessive partisan gerrymandering.”
“They know that elected officials’ legitimacy comes from being freely chosen by voters, not through seizing power from voters
to keep themselves in control,” added Mr. Potter, who was appointed to the commission in 1991 by President George Bush.
“In California, for instance, we did the redistricting reform
and the legislators have over 50 percent approval rating, and in Washington they have a 16 percent approval rating.”
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, joined a brief filed by current
and former members of the House of Representatives urging the Supreme Court to reject the Wisconsin maps.