Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio have maps drawn by Republicans along racial lines. But despite Judges ruling as such they are using these gerrymandered maps anyway. This article by Michael Wines is published by The New York Times. Here is an excerpt:

Since January, judges in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio have found that Republican legislators illegally drew those states’ congressional maps along racial or partisan lines, or that a trial very likely would conclude that they did. In years past, judges who have reached similar findings have ordered new maps, or had an expert draw them, to ensure that coming elections were fair.

But a shift in election law philosophy at the Supreme Court, combined with a new aggressiveness among Republicans who drew the maps, has upended that model for the elections in November. This time, all four states are using the rejected maps, and questions about their legality for future elections will be hashed out in court later.

The immediate upshot, election experts say, is that Republicans almost certainly will gain more seats in midterm elections at a time when Democrats already are struggling to maintain their bare majority.

Read the full article here. Also see related Democracy Chronicles articles like those on Redistricting, Election History, or even seen our section on American Democracy.