Redrawing Maps, Power, and the Voting Rights Act

What is happening? In the wake of the 2020 census, electoral maps are being redrawn across the country. With this comes a slew of legal challenges, as people on both sides of the aisle run to court to challenge maps they claim favor the other party. It’s not just a fight over where a few […]

Internal Politics Color Gerrymandering Fight in Berkeley

After a yearlong, virulent, and expensive fight, Measure S passed in Berkeley, California–establishing a student-age supermajority city council district. Measure S was a taboo political word; it was, quite frankly, a gerrymander. It designed the City Council maps to give an electoral advantage to a specific group–students. But the story was not that simple. The […]

The Contradictory Legacy of Eric Holder

Eric Holder announced in late September that he would be stepping down from his position as Attorney General. Holder made history as not only the first African American attorney general to serve, but also the third longest serving attorney general in history and the longest standing member of the Obama administration. While Holder made strides […]

Voting Rights and Voting Wrongs

Electoral law is in vogue for state legislatures this year. Facing the monumental Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder last year, some states are free to pass new electoral laws. These new laws are designed to prevent voter fraud by implementing more rigorous voting practices. These include requiring voter identification, cutting early voting, […]

SCOTUS Sneak Peak: A Look at the Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 Term

Though the current Supreme Court term only started on October 6, the court has already issued orders on two controversial issues and started hearing oral arguments for many other important cases. Though the court struck down Wisconsin’s voter ID law for the upcoming midterm elections, they handed down emergency orders that upheld North Carolina’s and […]