Professor Nate Persily weighs in on the Supreme Court’s Arizone redistricting decision and the possibility of other states using it as a model. 

The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to uphold the constitutionality of Arizona’s independent redistricting commission has some hoping their model could now pave the way for other states to adopt a less partisan way of drawing congressional lines.

“There are a lot of efforts around the country to try and get commissions enacted, and now I think those efforts are going to go full-steam ahead,” said Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a law professor at the University of Chicago who studies elections and redistricting. “Now that the Constitution has been cleaned up, the green light is definitely visible through this.”

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“Now with California and Arizona on safe constitutional ground, maybe other states will look to them as a model,” said Stanford Law School professor Nathaniel Persily, who filed an amicus brief in the case.

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“There will be movements in some other states,” Persily said, “but it really is in those states that have the initiative process and are comfortable using it.”