Anti-Gerrymandering Protesters Gather at Supreme Court (photos)
By • October 5, 2017 0 1727
Arnold Schwarzenegger called on the Supreme Court to “terminate” gerrymandering. He was among the hundreds of protesters for fair elections gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court building as the court heard arguments about partisan gerrymandering on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
Partisan gerrymandering is the practice of drawing legislative and congressional district lines to maximize and perpetuate the power of an incumbent political party. The practice takes its name from early 19th-century Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, who developed a bizarre redistricting plan to keep his political cronies in power. According to legend, when a political opponent described the shape of one of the districts as resembling the shape of a salamander, a colleague replied, “No, it looks more like a Gerrymander.”
The legal scholars and voting-rights activists who brought the case, Gill v. Whitford, have asserted that Wisconsin’s state senate and assembly district maps were rigged by Gov. Scott Walker’s political allies to lock in the majorities they gained in the 2010 election. Republicans gerrymandered legislative district lines so aggressively that in the next election, even though Wisconsin Democrats won 174,000 more votes than Republicans in races for state assembly seats, Republicans won a 60-39 majority in the chamber.
The decision will be far-reaching. In addition to Wisconsin, traditional battlegrounds such as Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and Virginia were among those with significant Republican advantages in their national or state races. In the 2016 election, 46 percent of North Carolina voters cast their ballots for Democrats, yet only 24 percent ended up with Democratic congressmen.
Analysts suggest that Justice Anthony Kennedy may provide the critical swing vote of the divided court to determine whether political gerrymanders cross a constitutional line.
View Jeff Malet’s photos from the Oct. 3 protests and speeches in front of the Supreme Court by clicking on the photo icons below.
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- Protesters for fair elections hold up paper cutouts of misshapen congressional districts outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY 3rd District) speaks out for fair elections (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Former Congressman David Jolly (R-Fla.) speaks out for fair elections (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “End Gerrymandering Now!” reads the sign held by Joanne Kim of Washington, D.C. Protesters gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on Oct. 3. Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- Karen Hobert Flynn (left), president of Common Cause, was a speaker
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- Paul Smith, the attorney arguing against Wisconsin’s gerrymandered maps, exits to Supreme Court.
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- Plaintiffs Wisconsin voter Helen Harris (left) and William Whitford, a University of Wisconsin law professor, speak to reporters. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California (R) who is against the practice of partisan gerrymandering, speaks to reporters following oral arguments.
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- J. Gerald Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center, speaks out following oral arguments.
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- Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California (R), calls on the Supreme Court to “terminate” gerrymandering.
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- Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former governor of California (R), leaves the Supreme Court after calling on the Court to “terminate” gerrymandering.
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- Wisconsin Rep. Fred Kessler (D) speaks out following oral arguments.
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- Wisconsin voter Helen Harris, a plaintiff, stands outside the Supreme Court following oral arguments.
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- Nearby, the U.S. Flag flies at half-staff over the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on Tuesday Oct. 3, 2017 as a mark of respect for the victims of gun violence at a country music festival in Las Vegas the previous Sunday.
