Virginiá
Virginia
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« on: October 04, 2017, 05:07:50 PM » |
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Obligatory IANAL aside: I think there are probably 1st amendment issues at hand (free association, maybe political speech), as well as maybe 14th amendment issues (equal protection). I'm not saying they are definitely valid arguments, just that they seem to make sense, and I think gerrymandering probably violates one or more of them. My take is in the quote boxes:
1. Freedom of Association (1st):
Wikipedia says this about freedom of association:
Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, and the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members
Gerrymandering punishes a person for associating with a group - a political party - by diminishing their power and their ability to take collective action to pursue the interests of their members. It essentially punishes a person for supporting a party by diminishing the value of their vote.
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2. Political speech (1st): Is your not right to political speech not infringed by gerrymandering, which basically puts limits on your party's ability to win elections, simply for being the other party?
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3. Equal protection (14th):
This was from the recent partisan gerrymandering scotus hearing:
That is what gerrymandering is, right? Partisans of one party pass a law - new district maps - to harm the opposition party by taking away / diminishing their ability to win elections. The law essentially targets [Democrats/Republicans]. Eg, in North Carolina, you are being punished by the state for being a Democrat, while Republicans are rewarded with extra political power for being Republicans.
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I don't know which of these arguments would be valid, if any, but I think they have merit. Also, as per my obligatory IANAL statement, I may have made a mistake or two or overlooked some precedent. Either way, they seem like reasonable theories to be discussed in regards to gerrymandering.
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