January, 26 2015, 02:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Susan Lehman, (212) 998-6318,Jeanine Plant-Chirlin, (212) 998-6289 or (646) 265-7721
BRIEF: Arizona Redistricting Law is Part of Long Tradition of Citizens Regulating State Elections
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Arizona legislature in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission would undermine the ability of citizens to combat the persistent problem of gerrymandering and enact other electoral reforms, argues a brief filed by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
NEW YORK
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Arizona legislature in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission would undermine the ability of citizens to combat the persistent problem of gerrymandering and enact other electoral reforms, argues a brief filed by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
At issue in the case is the legality of a ballot initiative, passed by the citizens of Arizona, which took redistricting power away from elected politicians and gave it to a nonpartisan redistricting commission. The legislature is challenging the law, arguing that it alone has the power to draw congressional districts.
"The Arizona Legislature's position is not supported by the Constitution's Elections Clause and runs contrary to more than two centuries of interpretation and practice," said Michael Li, counsel at the Brennan Center. "Citizens have long held the power to set the rules for congressional elections. The Supreme Court should affirm that tradition and preserve this law."
The brief also maintains that the way "legislature" was used at the time the Elections Clause was written is much broader than the narrow reading Arizona Legislature's case argues, which would exclude the people acting via ballot initiative. If the Arizona Legislature prevails at the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision could adversely affect the constitutionality of a whole host of laws, ranging from California's open primary law to Oregon's all-mail ballot elections.
Read the Brennan Center's amicus brief.
Read more about the Brennan Center's work on redistricting reform.
The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute. We strive to uphold the values of democracy. We stand for equal justice and the rule of law. We work to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all.
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Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
"Look, when we talk about the healthcare crisis, in my view, and I think the view of a majority of Americans, the current system is broken, it is dysfunctional, it is cruel, and it is wildly inefficient—far too expensive," said Sanders (I-Vt.), whose position is backed up by various polls.
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In addition to highlighting Sanders' interview on social media, Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) pointed out to Business Insider on Wednesday that "you've got thousands of people that are sharing their stories of frustration" in the wake of Thompson's death.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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