The court has never before struck down election maps simply because they lock in an advantage for one party. If Kennedy holds to the position that he appeared to favor, the court will have five votes for a ruling later this term that would limit gerrymanders. They used that power to draw election maps that strongly favored their party’s candidates. Ironically, however, a ruling in Democrats’ favor could help the GOP in the next round of redistricting. If so, gerrymandering would give them a chance to redraw election maps in their favor after the 2020 census.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 03, 2017 12:26 UTC