“Partisan gerrymandering of this kind is worse now than at any time in recent memory,” Mr. Smith said. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThe order granted a request to stay the district court’s decision while the Supreme Court considers the case. Packing many Democrats into a single district, for instance, wastes every Democratic vote beyond the bare majority needed to elect a Democratic candidate. Cracking, or spreading Democratic voters across districts in which Republicans have small majorities, wastes all of the Democratic votes when the Republican candidates win. The Wisconsin voters who sued to challenge the Assembly map argued that gaps over 7 percent violated the Constitution.

Source: New York Times June 19, 2017 13:56 UTC