“Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine said Thursday he would recuse himself from an upcoming hearing before the court in which his father, Gov. Mike DeWine, and other members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission have been ordered to explain why they violated a court order to approve new state legislative maps by late last week,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“A North Carolina court rejected a Republican-drawn map of the state’s 14 congressional districts on Wednesday and substituted its own version, the second time in less than two weeks that a court in the state has invalidated a Republican House map as unconstitutionally partisan,” the New York Times reports.

“The new map, drawn by a nonpartisan panel of four redistricting experts, appeared to split North Carolina’s congressional districts roughly equally between Republicans and Democrats, in a state where voters are divided evenly along partisan lines. It gives each party six relatively safe House seats and makes the remaining two winnable by either side.”

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has selected a new congressional map that will shape power and politics in the state for the next decade,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“In a 4-3 decision Wednesday, the court chose a map that was drawn by a Stanford professor and proposed by Democratic plaintiffs. The court also imposed a new election calendar for the May 17 primary, leaving that election day in place while moving the deadlines for candidates to file paperwork to get on the ballot.”

The Guardian: “Just 27 of the 335 congressional districts that have been drawn so far as part of the redistricting process are considered competitive – meaning either party has less than a five-point advantage – according to FiveThirtyEight. Dave Wasserman, an elections expert for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, told me he expects there to be 30 to 35 competitive seats in total once states finish drawing all 435 district boundaries. That means that as many as 94% of representatives would be running in relatively safe seats.”

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vowed not to sign a new congressional map unless lawmakers dismantle a North Florida district represented by a Black Democrat, setting up a showdown with his own party that threatens to upend the state’s delicate redistricting process,” CNN reports.

Members of the Kansas state Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of the new congressional map, despite initially falling short of the votes to do so, the Kansas City Star reports.

The override effort now heads to the state House.

“The Ohio Supreme Court once again has struck down new state legislative maps approved last month as unconstitutionally slanted toward Republicans under Ohio’s new anti-gerrymandering rules,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Columbus Dispatch: “The court gave the commission until Feb. 17 to approve a new map that reflects the 54% Republican, 46% Democrat voting preferences split over the past decade.”

“The Kansas Senate was stuck Monday afternoon as a Republican effort to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of the congressional redistricting map stalled amid division in their caucus and absenteeism,” the Topeka Capital-Journal reports.

“Republican senators have thus far failed to outright override Kelly’s veto, coming up three votes short of the needed two-thirds majority with two lawmakers not in attendance.”

“The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, allowed a congressional map drawn by Alabama Republicans to remain in place Monday, freezing a lower court ruling that said the map likely violates the Voting Rights Act,” CNN reports.

“The lower court had ordered a new map to be drawn, which could have led to Democrats gaining another seat in the House in the fall.”

Washington Post: “The unanimous lower court panel noted that over the past decade, the number of White Alabamians had declined while the state’s Black population grew, and now accounts for 27 percent of the state’s overall population. That means the state’s map should contain two districts with either Black majorities or ‘in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity’ to elect representatives they favor.”

“The number of competitive congressional districts is on track to dive near — and possibly below — the lowest level in at least three decades, as Republicans and Democrats draw new political maps designed to ensure that the vast majority of House races are over before the general election starts,” the New York Times reports

“With two-thirds of the new boundaries set, mapmakers are on pace to draw fewer than 40 seats — out of 435 — that are considered competitive based on the 2020 presidential election results.”

“North Carolina’s new political district maps are unconstitutional, the N.C. Supreme Court ruled Friday,” the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

“The maps, drawn by Republican lawmakers late last year, would have given GOP candidates a sizable advantage in elections throughout the next decade. Republican leaders argued in favor of the maps in court, saying redistricting is an inherently political process and that courts shouldn’t get involved by banning partisan gerrymandering.”

“Democrats have drawn themselves aggressive maps in Illinois and New York as part of their efforts to overcome perceived Republican redistricting strengths this midterm year,” Axios reports.

“They’ve also been in position to veto some GOP maps and win court challenges to Republican districts.”

“The wins are adding up, with Democrats now set to potentially gain two to three seats through redistricting.”

Cook Political Report: “The biggest redistricting weapon of 2022 has always been the Empire State, and Democrats are poised to finally use it. On Sunday, New York Democrats unveiled a gerrymander that could expand their lead in the delegation from 19D-8R to 22D-4R — the largest single-state shift in the country.”

“Gov. Kathy Hochul has already said she supports using the redistricting process to give her party more seats.”

“Democratic state legislators in New York released a congressional redistricting map Sunday that redrew House lines to give Democrats as many as three more seats at a time when the party’s majority is in jeopardy,” the New York Times reports.

“The map made public Sunday would result in lines that would give Democrats 22 seats to four Republican ones. The New York delegation is currently 19 Democratic seats to eight seats for Republicans. The state lost a seat because of slow growth over the past 10 years.”

Sorry in advance, but this could become a real time sink: The New York Times has a new interactive game where your mission is to gerrymander your party to power.

“A panel of three federal judges threw out Alabama’s congressional map on Monday and ordered state lawmakers to draw a new one with two, rather than just one, districts that are likely to elect Black representatives,” the New York Times reports.

“The case is certain to be appealed and could lead to the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the question of whether lawmakers can draw political maps to achieve a specific racial composition, a practice known as racial gerrymandering.”

“New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission has failed to reach consensus on a new congressional map, ensuring that the state’s Democratic lawmakers will redraw district lines in a process that could affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections,” Reuters reports.

“The panel had until Tuesday to vote on a map to send to state legislators. Instead, Democratic and Republican commissioners exchanged accusations of political bias in dueling statements on Monday that made it clear no agreement would be forthcoming.”