Idaho’s redistricting debate isn’t over. Ada County appeals to U.S. Supreme Court
The Idaho Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the state’s new legislative districts is headed to the nation’s highest court.
Ada County, one of several petitioners that challenged the Idaho redistricting commission’s map, plans to appeal Idaho justices’ decision to validate the new districts earlier this year.
The U.S. Supreme Court accepted a petition by county prosecutors to extend the deadline to appeal Idaho Supreme Court’s decision to July 14, according to court records. Ada County spokeswoman Elizabeth Duncan confirmed the county intends to appeal.
County prosecutors in its petition argued that Idaho justices failed to decide whether the redistricting process properly followed the U.S. Constitution. As a result, that left the Idaho redistricting commission with the discretion to determine whether its own maps upheld requirements that are outlined by the U.S. Constitution, the prosecutors said.
The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment mandates legislative districts to be roughly equal in population size, ensuring the weight of one person’s vote isn’t based on geography.
“This left the Reapportionment Commission in the position to decide whether its own plan, and three other plans submitted by the public, complied with federal equal protection requirements,” Ada County’s petition said.
The Idaho Supreme Court’s decision in January cleared the way for new districts to be implemented in Idaho’s May 17 primary election.
The bipartisan Idaho Commission for Reapportionment is tasked every 10 years with redrawing voting districts, the boundaries for state House and Senate seats, based on the most recent census.
Several legal challengers, including the Ada County Board of Commissioners, filed petitions against the new maps. They argued the commission violated the Idaho Constitution and state law by dividing too many counties and “communities of interest,” such as tribal reservations. The Idaho Supreme Court rejected those petitions.
U.S. Constitution mandates ‘one person, one vote’
The Idaho Constitution instructs redistricting commissions, when setting new district boundaries, to split counties only when absolutely necessary. It says that counties may be divided “only to the extent it is reasonably determined by statute that counties must be divided” to create districts “which comply with the Constitution of the United States.”
Idaho justices in January ruled that a county can be divided if the commission “reasonably determined” it’s necessary to comply with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
“We hold that petitioners have failed to meet their burden of showing that the commission unreasonably determined that eight county splits were necessary to afford Idaho’s citizens equal protection of the law,” Justice John R. Stegner wrote in the opinion. The justices were unanimous in their ruling.
The Idaho Supreme Court in March denied Ada County’s request for a rehearing. Justices rebuked Ada County’s argument that the Idaho Supreme Court should determine whether the redistricting process adhered to the U.S. Constitution, rather than determining whether the commission followed the U.S. Constitution.
After Ada County submits a petition for review, U.S. Supreme Court justices will decide whether to review the state court’s decision. It’s unclear whether a new Supreme Court decision could affect the May primary election results.
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to consider most requests for review. Every year the federal court accepts 100 to 150 of the more than 7,000 cases — typically cases that have national significance — that it’s asked to review, according to USCourts.gov.
