From Ashcroft to Larios: Recent Redistricting Lessons From Georgia

In this Article, we explore the impact of a court-ordered and implemented re-crafting of state legislative districts in the state of Georgia. First, we explore the notion of “fairness” in legislative redistricting and identify the factors associated with a “fair” map. We then describe the partisan nature of the 2001 Georgia state legislative redistricting and the political consequences of this most effective gerrymander. We also describe the two legal challenges to the Georgia maps—Georgia v. Ashcroft and Larios v. Cox—and discuss the path of both cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. We then explore the expected and observed consequences of the Court-ordered and implemented redistricting that undid the unconstitutional Georgia gerrymander, and draw conclusions regarding the prospect for how court remedies can affect partisan bias in redistricting plans

The History of Redistricting in Georgia

In his memoirs, Chief Justice Earl Warren singled outthe redistrictingcases as the most significant decisions ofhis tenure on the Court., A review of the changesredistricting introduced in Georgia supports Warren\u27sassessment. Not only have the obligations to equalizepopulations across districts and to do so in a racially fairmanner transformed the makeup of the state\u27s collegialbodies, Georgia has provided the setting for multiple casesthat have defined the requirements to be met whendesigning districts.Other than the very first adjustments that occurred inthe 1960s, changes in Georgia plans had to secureapproval from the federal government pursuant to theVoting Rights Act. Also, the first four decades of theRedistricting Revolution occurred with a Democraticlegislature and governor in place. Not surprisingly, thepartisansin control of redistrictingsought to protect theirown and as that became difficult they employed moreextreme measures.When in the minority, Republicans had no chance toenact plans on their own. Beginning in the 1980s andpeaking a decade later, Republicans joined forces withblack Democrats to devise alternatives to the proposals ofwhite Democrats. The biracial,bipartisancoalition neverhad sufficient numbers to enact its ideas. After strikingout in the legislature,African-Americans appealed to theU.S. Attorney General alleging that the plans enactedwere less favorable to black interests than alternatives offered by the coalition. Every iteration,save for the plansdrawn in the 1960s and 2011, bore the marks of what theDepartment of Justice (DOJ)believed necessary to secureequal treatment of African-Americans. As will becomeclear in the course of this Article, the DOJ\u27s perspectivehas changed over time.This Article is arrangedchronologically and examineseach of the major rounds of redistricting. Aside fromadjusting for population shifts, which remain constant, adifferent concern or theme dominated each round. In the1960s, Georgia and other states were like individuals whohad begun flexing long-ignored muscles as they set aboutadjusting lines that had gone unchanged for decades. Inthe 1970s, as the need for redistricting merged withdemands from the Voting Rights Act, pushback occurredas it did in the many other aspects of racial interactionasthe nation finally began to take seriously its commitmentto equality. A decade later, Georgia encountered a DOJthat had precise quantitative goals for what wasnecessary to provide African-Americans an opportunity toelect their preferences. In the 1990s, DOJ incorporatedSection 2 of the Voting Rights Act into its preclearancereviews and demanded that Georgia enhance the numberof majority-black districts and that it maximize the blackpercentage in those districts. The turn of the new centuryfound the generations-longDemocratic control of Georgiaslipping away and the majority party pulled out all thestops desperately trying to cling to power. Democraticefforts could not withstand the tide of partisanrealignment and court challenges so that in 2011Republicans sat at the computer terminals andredistrictedGeorgia. Republicans attempted to maximizetheir control over the legislature by devising plans thatmight produce super-majorities with two-thirds of theseats in each chambe

State and local agencies are more effective than the federal government in housing discrimination enforcement

Discrimination by those selling or renting homes is illegal under the 1968 Fair Housing Act (known as Title VIII), but housing discrimination and segregation in the US have not been eliminated. Federal, state, and local agencies are responsible for enforcing Title VIII, so in which part of government is enforcement most effective? In new research which analyses data from the ..

Race, Ethnicity, and Fair Housing Enforcement: A Regional Analysis

This article systematically compares how federal, state, and local civil rights agencies in the ten standard regions of the United States enforce fair housing law complaints filed by Blacks and Latinos. Specifically, it explores the extent to which regional outcomes at all three levels of government are decided favorably where, between 1989 and 2010, a racial or ethnic violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 or the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 is alleged. The results reveal significant variations in outcomes between these groups across the country. Most importantly, the probability of an outcome favorable to the complainant depends on the region in which the complaint is filed, the race or ethnicity of the complainant, and the racial or ethnic composition and the number of complaints filed per capita in the state in which a complaint originates. In general, while complaints filed by Latinos are more likely to receive a favorable outcome than those filed by Blacks, favorability rates for Latinos are more dependent on the region where the complaint is processed than they are for Blacks

The Consolidation of the White Southern Congressional Vote

This article explores the initial desertion and continued realignment of about one-sixth of the white voters in the South who, until 1994, stood by Democratic congressional candidates even as they voted for Republican presidential nominees. Prior to 1994, a sizable share of the white electorate distinguished between Democratic congressional and presidential candidates; since 1994 that distinction has been swept away. In 1992, a majority of white southern voters was casting their ballot for the Democratic House nominee; by 1994, the situation was reversed and 64 percent cast their ballot for the Republican. Virtually all categories of voters increased their support of Republican congressional candidates in 1994 and the following elections further cement GOP congressional support in the South. Subsequent elections are largely exercises in partisanship, as the congressional votes mirror party preferences. Republicans pull nearly all GOP identifiers, most independents, and a sizeable minority of Democratic identifiers. Democrats running for Congress no longer convince voters that they are different from their party’s presidential standard bearers—a group that has consistently been judged unacceptable to overwhelming proportions of the southern white electorate.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection