In a 5-4 decision certain to reshuffle the landscape of American politics, the Supreme Court tossed out the obviously gerrymandered state of Oklahoma. “Under the Court’s longstanding precedents on gerrymandering, the boundaries of Oklahoma are plainly unconstitutional,” wrote Associate Justice Elena Kagan, explaining the majority’s decision to strike down Oklahoma. “We must apply strict scrutiny to any state maps with such irregular shapes as Oklahoma’s. The state’s wacky panhandle and ridiculous borders fail our usual test, so Oklahoma must be immediately abolished.” In a related decision, the Court ruled that Vermont’s clear attempt to draw a state boundary that includes only white residents constituted unlawful racial gerrymandering.

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