Gill v. Whitford (U.S. Supreme Court, 2017)

At issue in this case is partisan gerrymandering. After the 2010 census, the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature engaged in redistricting. The district lines that would ultimately become law in Wisconsin had a distinct partisan advantage for Republicans. A professor analyzing the plan concluded that Republicans would be able to maintain a 54 seat majority (of the 99 Assembly seats) while only garnering 48% of the statewide vote, while Democrats would have to get 54% of the statewide vote to capture a majority of the seats. Plaintiffs, Democratic voters, alleged that the redistricting created an unconstitutional partisan advantage for Republicans. ADL signed onto a brief urging the Supreme Court to set limits on partisan gerrymandering. Citing the foundational principles of our democracy imagined by the Founders, the brief provides the Court with a historical perspective of the origins and progression of the fundamental values of representation and accountability, as well as the current views of Americans on political gerrymandering.