Politics
Missouri Republicans Lose Redistricting Case Three Times, Apparently Unclear On What Three Means
By Mor Michael, . BSN Network. Satire.
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Supreme Court on Friday blocked Missouri Republicans from using their redrawn congressional map for the third time, in what the Court's order described as a routine procedural matter and what everyone else described as a pattern.
The map in question had been challenged on the grounds that it was drawn to dilute Black voting power in the St. Louis area, a charge Missouri Republicans did not dispute so much as rephrase until it sounded more like a geographic coincidence.
The legal history here is worth a moment. The first rejection came in February. The second came in March. The third came Friday, which is either evidence of a deeply held belief in the democratic process or evidence that nobody in Jefferson City owns a calendar.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who has overseen the state's election administration throughout this period, said in a statement that the state remains committed to pursuing every available legal avenue, which at this point means roughly one.
"We respect the Court's process and we will continue to advocate vigorously for the map that best serves Missouri voters," Ashcroft said, in a statement that used the phrase "Missouri voters" to describe the arrangement that a federal court found harmed Missouri voters.
Representative Jason Smith, whose district stood to benefit from the redrawn lines, told reporters that the situation was frustrating but that the party had always known this would be a long fight. He did not explain what the expected length of a fight with the Supreme Court is, or who told him three was a reasonable opening bid.
Legal analysts noted that the Court's three interventions represent an unusual degree of attention for a single state map in a single election cycle, particularly from a Court that has in recent years been disinclined to intervene in redistricting disputes at all. The Court declined to explain its reasoning, which is its right, and which in this case may have been a kindness.
Democrats in the Missouri legislature issued a statement calling the ruling a victory for fair representation. It ran to four paragraphs and could have been one sentence, but that is a different problem.
Elections in Missouri proceed under the older map. The congressional lines that Missouri Republicans drew, litigated, revised, re-litigated, and lost three times in nine months will not appear on a ballot this cycle.
The state has not announced whether it intends to try a fourth time, but sources close to the Missouri GOP say the team is feeling good about their momentum.
The story we are making fun of: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/supreme-court-third-time-rejects-republican-redistricting-push-missour-rcna599218