Tea Party sues for "right" to redistrict Kentucky themselves

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

God damned Democrat politics... takin' away our God-given right to gerrymander our state. 

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I quite like the idea that anyone could submit a map to the judges, which would then pick the best. It has the potential to do a lot of good (provided that the judges are impartial, of course).

Define "the best".

Least population variation with reasonably compact districts and no pronounced partisan bias.

Though I understand other people might have different definitions. As long as it's not "the map that best suits my party"...

Some of the best maps last year came from courts. I think NY and CO were rather good, all things considered.

[Benj]

I quite like the idea that anyone could submit a map to the judges, which would then pick the best. It has the potential to do a lot of good (provided that the judges are impartial, of course).

Define "the best".

Least population variation with reasonably compact districts and no pronounced partisan bias.

Though I understand other people might have different definitions. As long as it's not "the map that best suits my party"...

Some of the best maps last year came from courts. I think NY and CO were rather good, all things considered.

Definitely judges do the best job of drawing maps--better than nonpartisan commissions, way better than legislatures (regardless of how many ultimately toothless restrictions you put on the legislature). But they do a much better job when they create their own maps than when they accept public submissions.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Iowa wasn't that bad and frankly neither was West Virginia, but they have whole county requirements and that only works in such states that are small.

[jimrtex]

I quite like the idea that anyone could submit a map to the judges, which would then pick the best. It has the potential to do a lot of good (provided that the judges are impartial, of course).

That is why there are 3-judge panels for election cases.  In the Texas redistricting case, if the 5th Circuit Justice had not written his dissent, the SCOTUS probably would not have stepped in, and the home-town judges would have got away with drawing the map.

The Democrats opposed intervention by neutral parties in the Texas case, and the hometown judge said we've got enough "help".