Supreme Court Punts On Partisan Gerrymandering, Leaving Status Quo In Place

The U.S. Supreme Court essentially punted on extreme partisan gerrymandering Monday, declining to address the central questions at the heart of whether the practice is constitutional.

The court took up two cases, one out of Wisconsin and one out of Maryland, with lines drawn by both parties.

It declared that the plaintiffs in Wisconsin don't have standing to sue, because they didn't try to prove that their vote had been diluted in their own district.

In Maryland, the court declined to engage on the merits of the case. The lower court, it said, was right in leaving the current system in place.

In many ways, this is a win for those who wish to leave partisan gerrymandering in place, because this decision likely makes it harder for groups opposed to the practice to bring such a case in the future.