Here Is Hoping the SCOTUS Will Leave This One to the States

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that the current Congressional districts must be redrawn.

Of particular interest is the fact that they ruled solely on the state constitution, which means that, assuming that the US Supreme Court doesn't pull some sort of bogus law out of its ass,^* this ruling will stand.

In a decision that could tilt the congressional balance of power in a key swing state in favor of Democrats, Pennsylvania's highest court decided Monday that the state's GOP-drawn congressional districts violate its Constitution, and ordered all 18 districts redrawn in the next few weeks.

Less partisan congressional districts could give Democrats a chance this November to win back as many as half a dozen seats that had been lost to them over the past decade. It could also give the party a major boost in its quest to take back the House of Representatives, where Democrats need to net 24 seats to win control of the chamber.

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In a 4-to-3 decision, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court ordered the Republican-controlled state legislature to redraw the lines by Feb. 9, an extraordinarily quick timeline that will reset the districts in time for the state's May congressional primaries. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will have veto power over the maps.

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How the court reached its decision is just as significant as what they decided. This is the second court case in recent weeks to throw out electoral lines because they were drawn to favor one party's voters over another, decisions that have mostly benefited Democrats.

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Monday's case wasn't the only one involving Pennsylvania's maps. A three-judge panel on a federal court recently sided with Republicans, though Pildes and other legal experts think Monday's state Supreme Court decision will be the final word.

Legal analysts also weren't sure that appealing to the Supreme Court is a possibility, given that Pennsylvania's state court ruled that the lines violated the state Constitution. The Supreme Court has never thrown out a state's redistricting plan because of extreme partisan gerrymandering.

(emphasis mine)

The thing to watch for here is whether or not the US Supreme Court issues an injunction, which would indicate that a significant portion of the court is planning to do some seriously partisan bullsh%$.

^*Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000)