WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court returned to the subject of partisan gerrymandering on Tuesday, considering for a second time in two years whether drawing election maps to help the party in power ever violates the Constitution. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, the court’s newest member and the one who may possess the decisive vote, expressed uneasiness about the practice. “Extreme partisan gerrymandering is a real problem for our democracy,” he said. “I’m not going to dispute that.”He added, though, that recent developments around the nation — including state ballot initiatives establishing nonpartisan redistricting commissions, proposed legislation in Congress and state supreme court rulings — may make action from the United States Supreme Court less necessary.

Source: New York Times March 26, 2019 09:01 UTC