[EL] Justice Alito and Bethune-Hill II dissent

Mon Jun 17 09:59:40 PDT 2019

I've written with Micah Altman on the linkages between district competition
and ideological polarization, too, btw. If one truly believes in the
conditional party government model, its reverse -- adding more moderate
members to Congress -- should result in the lessening of party leaders to
enforce party discipline and thus further reduce the ideological gap
between the parties beyond what can be engineered alone by having more
competitive districts. I'm not saying redistricting is the only factor for
ideological polarization...but it is one we can at least measure and take
action on.

We critique the McCarty et al. paper, too. For those who wish to read it,
our paper is here:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2710831

============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, University of Florida
703-772-1440 (c)
352-273-2371 (w)
www.electproject.org
@ElectProject

On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 12:11 PM Nicholas Stephanopoulos <
nicholas.stephanopoulos at gmail.com> wrote:

> I agree with Rick that legislators' roll call votes don't capture all of
> their activities; they're still very important, though. Michael is also
> right that the results are a little less stark if district partisanship is
> measured using a statewide race -- but only a little. Here, for example, is
> a a chart from a paper <https://legacy.voteview.com/pdf/ajps_393.pdf> by
> Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal showing the relationship
> between House members' voting records and their districts' *presidential* vote
> shares (in 2004). There is now *some* difference between same-party
> legislators representing safe as opposed to competitive districts. But this
> intra-party difference is still dwarfed by the much larger inter-party
> difference between Democrats and Republicans.
>
> [image: image.png]
>
> On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 10:55 AM Pildes, Rick <rick.pildes at nyu.edu> wrote:
>
>> I agree with Michal McDonald that looking just at the measures that
>> actually get voted on cannot provide a full answer to these questions.
>> Just look at the a particularly prominent example:  current struggles
>> between Democratic House members about whether to initiate an impeachment
>> inquiry or proceeding.  Democrats elected from districts that lean
>> Republican (or “Trump” districts) are strongly resisting going down that
>> path for now; Democrats from overwhelmingly safe seats are the primary
>> group pushing to go forward.
>>
>>
>>
>> If we ever get to the point of formal votes being taken on
>> impeachment-related matters, it might well be that Democrats vote in more
>> unified partisan patterns.  But we never get to that point precisely
>> because of district-related divisions within the Democratic Party.
>>
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Rick
>>
>>
>>
>> Richard H. Pildes
>>
>> Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
>>
>> NYU School of Law
>>
>> 40 Washington Sq. So.
>>
>> NYC, NY 10012
>>
>> 212 998-6377
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Michael McDonald [mailto:dr.michael.p.mcdonald at gmail.com]
>> *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2019 11:47 AM
>> *To:* Nicholas Stephanopoulos <nicholas.stephanopoulos at gmail.com>
>> *Cc:* Pildes, Rick <rick.pildes at nyu.edu>; Election Law Listserv <
>> law-election at uci.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Justice Alito and Bethune-Hill II dissent
>>
>>
>>
>> That's because members condition their voting patterns on the partisan
>> composition of their electorate. Moderate members are more likely to
>> represent moderate districts and voters reward this behavior. This is why
>> looking solely at legislative vote margins as a measure of the districts'
>> ideology is a poor approach. A preferred metric is statewide offices.
>>
>>
>> ============
>> Dr. Michael P. McDonald
>> Associate Professor, University of Florida
>> 703-772-1440 (c)
>>
>> 352-273-2371 (w)
>> www.electproject.org
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.electproject.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=Lj3lT2Z18VGIyetV_Dx4VOGSxMEeMJRV38Tiu3Us70Q&s=F1xH1S_7qvJrh81b1A9GUo9e2i674xy-7LREiRtf-Mw&e=>
>> @ElectProject
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 11:42 AM Nicholas Stephanopoulos <
>> nicholas.stephanopoulos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> The passages Rick highlights are also notable for their romantic, but
>> inaccurate, view of contemporary legislative representation. Justice Alito
>> writes: "The interests and views of these constituents generally have an
>> important effect on everything that a legislator does." He continues: "When
>> the boundaries of a district are changed, the constituents and communities
>> of interest present within the district are altered, and this is likely to
>> change the way in which the district’s representative does his or her work."
>>
>>
>>
>> In fact, today's representatives are shockingly *unresponsive* to their
>> constituents' preferences. The partisan mix of constituents determines
>> whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected. But once that partisan
>> choice is made, constituents' views largely stop mattering. Here, for
>> example, is a chart from a recent article
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__dspace.mit.edu_handle_1721.1_119500&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=Lj3lT2Z18VGIyetV_Dx4VOGSxMEeMJRV38Tiu3Us70Q&s=gGOAvhL-9MUgaYwOsKW3bDzS4OhXvEleOKau3CMPY3w&e=>
>> by Devin Caughey, Chris Tausanovitch, and Chris Warshaw, showing the
>> relationship between state legislative districts' partisan makeups and
>> state legislators' voting records. There is obviously a huge difference
>> between Democrats' and Republicans' voting records. But *within* the
>> group of Democratic or Republican legislators, there is essentially no
>> connection at all between a district's partisan composition and its
>> legislator's voting record. Representatives from safe Democratic or
>> Republican districts are practically indistinguishable from representatives
>> from competitive seats.
>>
>>
>>
>> [image: image.png]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 10:03 AM Pildes, Rick <rick.pildes at nyu.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Justice Alito has always had a particularly keen interest in
>> redistricting, which I assume traces to his father’s involvement with the
>> redistricting pro0cess during his work with the New Jersey legislature.
>> Thus, I am not surprised he wrote the dissent in today’s case.  Leaving
>> aside the standing issue itself, his dissent includes many noteworthy
>> statements about how much redistricting affects what legislatures do and
>> the laws they produce.  Here’s a sampling of the comments that stood out to
>> me.  These comments, in my view, are in considerable tension with one
>> argument Justice Scalia made in his plurality opinion in *Vieth, *in
>> which he argues it is “impossible to assess the effects of partisan
>> gerrymandering” because who knows how voters will vote from election to
>> election.  From Justice Alito today:
>>
>>
>>
>> “A legislative districting plan powerfully affects a legislative body’s
>> output of work.”
>>
>>
>>
>> “…it matters a lot how voters with shared interests and views are
>> concentrated or split up. The cumulative effects of all the decisions that
>> go into a districting plan have an important impact on the overall work of
>> the body. All of this should really go without saying.”
>>
>>
>>
>> “Districting matters because it has institutional and legislative
>> consequences.  … To suggest otherwise, to argue that substituting one plan
>> for another has no effect on the work or output of the legislative body
>> whose districts are changed, would really be quite astounding.  If the
>> selection
>>
>> of a districting plan did not alter what the legislative body does, why
>> would there be such pitched battles over redistricting efforts?”
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Richard H. Pildes
>>
>> Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
>>
>> NYU School of Law
>>
>> 40 Washington Sq. So.
>>
>> NYC, NY 10012
>>
>> 212 998-6377
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Law-election [mailto:
>> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] *On Behalf Of *Rick Hasen
>> *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2019 10:26 AM
>> *To:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
>> *Subject:* [EL] Bethune-Hill II decided
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Supreme Court, on 5-4 Vote in Bethune-Hill Racial Gerrymandering Case
>> from Virginia, Concludes Va. House of Delegates Lacks Standing to Pursue
>> Challenge.
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__electionlawblog.org_-3Fp-3D105642&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=FpfO4LiwXDfmif3zgrUNj4juhgqgho8lWIo63sKCiOo&e=>
>>
>> Posted on June 17, 2019 7:23 am
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__electionlawblog.org_-3Fp-3D105642&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=FpfO4LiwXDfmif3zgrUNj4juhgqgho8lWIo63sKCiOo&e=>
>>  by *Rick Hasen*
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__electionlawblog.org_-3Fauthor-3D3&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=uZSQJtx2EQGpq5dQNkZYFpA8qItLE3oW7K_nPhRfOKg&e=>
>>
>> You can find the opinion here
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.supremecourt.gov_opinions_18pdf_18-2D281-5F6j37.pdf&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=-eqGbLe_46bYNVszNMUeLGtUOwnDGfrGVgUDwGbxVEA&e=>
>> .
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> [image: Share]
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.addtoany.com_share-23url-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Felectionlawblog.org-252F-253Fp-253D105642-26title-3DSupreme-2520Court-252C-2520on-25205-2D4-2520Vote-2520in-2520Bethune-2DHill-2520Racial-2520Gerrymandering-2520Case-2520from-2520Virginia-252C-2520Concludes-2520Va.-2520House-2520of-2520Delegates-2520Lacks-2520Standing-2520to-2520Pursue-2520Challenge.&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=pEZ-vkzgDAke9pEK4Au6nCMftiNs8luH4CzFM4kppU0&e=>
>>
>> Posted in Uncategorized
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__electionlawblog.org_-3Fcat-3D1&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=XMCxIWmTvMBgIgdj7qfbL1XlNv3RUijCIhDu8p8hQCw&e=>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Rick Hasen
>>
>> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
>>
>> UC Irvine School of Law
>>
>> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
>>
>> Irvine, CA 92697-8000
>>
>> 949.824.3072 - office
>>
>> rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>
>> http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.law.uci.edu_faculty_full-2Dtime_hasen_&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=s-KnLREcuWUR5qVy5dQEgy-jtUifKDZ6SI5vqxBreck&e=>
>>
>> http://electionlawblog.org
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__electionlawblog.org_&d=DwMGaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=_2J9rzVzu3gPDSXJg5OKMnwid2ezSVNsHzv84W0rd4I&s=i3p78VEhKbm61EUU-rLv8N-L6ObJfAHf6hN9PE5aPkY&e=>
>>
>> [image: signature_537431996]
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos
>> Professor of Law
>>
>> Herbert and Marjorie Fried Research Scholar
>> University of Chicago Law School
>> nsteph at uchicago.edu
>> (773) 702-4226
>> http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/stephanopoulos
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.law.uchicago.edu_faculty_stephanopoulos&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=v3oz9bpMizgP1T8KwLv3YT-_iypxaOkdtbkRAclgHRk&m=Lj3lT2Z18VGIyetV_Dx4VOGSxMEeMJRV38Tiu3Us70Q&s=nYRqM_1iSjz-RI2AFYRBgcEudBm6YrrzCUbsno3KChA&e=>
>>
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>>
>>
>
> --
> Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos
> Professor of Law
> Herbert and Marjorie Fried Research Scholar
> University of Chicago Law School
> nsteph at uchicago.edu
> (773) 702-4226
> http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/stephanopoulos
>
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