The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down a redistricting map that would have handed Democrats 10 of the state's 11 congressional seats — a gerrymander built after the state's independent redistricting commission deadlocked. The original map, drawn by special masters Dr. Bernie Grofman and Sean Trende, was constructed blind to partisan data and projected a 6-Democrat, 5-Republican outcome in a neutral year — a rough mirror of Virginia's actual political composition.
Said Trende, senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics: "In a normal year, we would have expected the map to produce 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans."
The Founders lodged redistricting authority inside Article I precisely so the people's House would answer to the people. When state legislatures — of either party — engineer maps to predetermine outcomes, they don't just insult voters; they breach the constitutional order. The republic's long memory is clear on this: rigged maps are a surrender of self-government, whatever jersey the riggers wear.