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Page Number: 37.0

32 

RUCHO v. COMMON CAUSE 

Opinion of the Court 

be  drawn  with  the  intent  to  favor  or  disfavor  a  political
party”  provides  little  guidance  on  the  question.    See post, 
at 31, n. 6.)  Indeed, numerous other States are restricting 
partisan  considerations  in  districting  through  legislation. 
One  way  they  are  doing  so  is  by  placing  power  to  draw 
electoral  districts  in  the  hands  of  independent  commis-
sions.  For example, in November 2018, voters in Colorado
and Michigan approved constitutional amendments creat-
ing  multimember  commissions  that  will  be  responsible  in 
whole  or in  part  for  creating  and approving  district  maps
for congressional and state legislative districts.  See Colo. 
Const.,  Art. V,  §§44,  46;  Mich.  Const.,  Art. IV,  §6.    Mis-
souri  is  trying  a  different  tack.    Voters  there  overwhelm-
ingly  approved  the  creation  of  a  new  position—state  de-
mographer—to  draw  state  legislative  district  lines.    Mo. 
Const., Art. III, §3.

Other States have mandated at least some of the tradi-
tional districting criteria for their mapmakers.  Some have 
outright  prohibited  partisan  favoritism  in  redistricting. 
See  Fla.  Const.,  Art.  III,  §20(a)  (“No  apportionment  plan
or  individual  district  shall  be  drawn  with  the  intent  to 
favor or disfavor a political party  or an incumbent.”); Mo. 
Const., Art. III, §3 (“Districts shall be designed in a man-
ner that achieves both partisan fairness and, secondarily, 
‘Partisan  fairness’  means  that  parties 
competitiveness. 
shall be able to translate their popular support into legis-
lative  representation  with  approximately  equal efficiency.”);
Iowa Code §42.4(5) (2016) (“No district shall be drawn for 
the purpose of favoring a political party, incumbent legis-
lator  or  member  of  Congress,  or  other  person  or  group.”);
Del.  Code  Ann.,  Tit.  xxix,  §804  (2017)  (providing  that  in
determining  district  boundaries  for  the  state  legislature,
no  district  shall  “be  created  so  as  to  unduly  favor  any
person or political party”).

As  noted,  the  Framers  gave  Congress  the  power  to  do 
something about partisan gerrymandering in the Elections