Madeline Sponsler, FISM News

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On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that had allowed a ballot measure in Oregon to redraw electoral district lines in the state through an independent commission.

The justices assigned to the case granted a request by Oregon officials to put on hold a July 10 injunction that ordered the state to reduce the number of signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two of the nine justices, liberals Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, said they would have left the lower court’s order in place.

The drawing of electoral districts in Oregon currently is currently within the power of the state legislature. Some election reform advocates have promoted independent commissions to outline electoral districts. They say it’s unjust that many state legislatures draw political maps intended to boost the election prospects of the party already in power.

The commission proposed in Oregon would draw electoral maps for both chambers of the state legislature and for U.S. House of Representatives seats.

Sourced from Reuters