Commentary

When it comes to current efforts to strip or distort the people’s ability to choose their government, state courts have both the authority and the duty to act.

An interview with Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School Robert Yablon. Prof. Yablon discusses his recent article on the concept of "gerrylaundering", an idea related to gerrymandering.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has set the stage for another decade of gerrymandered electoral maps. For Wisconsinites across the political spectrum who are fed up with partisan redistricting abuses, the court’s decision is a gut punch — and a glaring departure from past judicial practice. When federal judges did the work in Wisconsin in prior decades, they emphatically rejected biased maps. By failing to do the same, this court has taken a wrong turn that could seriously tarnish its institutional credibility.

The episode discusses ongoing battles of state legislatures stripping power from governors, how states and localities are using COVID-related federal aid, and state constitutional law. As part of the conversation, we also get into institutional design of state and local governments and how these institutions promote or hinder majoritarianism.