The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision last month ruling that creating congressional districts based on race was unconstitutional, and now the Arizona Legislature is considering filing a lawsuit to end Arizona’s racially gerrymandered districts.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) posted on X, “Great decision this morning from the U.S. Supreme Court on redistricting. Very likely we bring a claim to eliminate our unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts here in AZ.” He told The Arizona Republic, “Our maps are racist. The redistricting commission should meet and they should fix the maps. And if they don’t do it, then we’ll litigate.”
In Arizona, two congressional districts and seven state legislative districts are majority Latino, while one additional legislative district is majority Native American. All of these districts vote heavily Democratic. While the Supreme Court’s decision only addressed congressional districts, it will also carry a heavy influence on legislative redistricting. It will also affect other types of districts, such as county supervisors. In Maricopa County, one of the supervisors’ districts is gerrymandered for an Hispanic Democrat.
The authority to redistrict was taken away from the Arizona Legislature in 2000 by a voter ballot initiative, and given to a new bipartisan independent commission. That commission has been accused of drawing districts to favor minority Democrats. A successful lawsuit could force the commission to redraw the map by arguing that the current boundaries rely on unconstitutional racial considerations.
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