US supreme court to hear case with critical consequences for voting rights

A ruling in favor of a fringe legal theory would free the states to make their own rules on gerrymandering and voting procedures

It was the winter of 2018, and Pennsylvania's Republicans were desperate.

A few weeks into the new year, the Pennsylvania supreme court had struck down the state's congressional map. The districts, the court said, were so distorted that they clearly and palpably" violated the Pennsylvania constitution. With their considerable advantage in the state's congressional delegation at risk, Republicans launched a last-ditch effort to get the US supreme court to intervene.