The Supreme Court today denied the original writ petition in Sanchez v. Weber, the Republicans’ second attempt in that court to prevent the electorate from voting in November to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts. The petition was filed on Monday. There was no recorded dissenting vote. The court denied an earlier petition last week.
Today’s denial means California courts will not stop the special election, but it is not necessarily the end of challenges to the redistricting. Besides threatened federal court lawsuits, the petitioners could renew in the Supreme Court their attacks on the legislative action if the voters approve redistricting in a little over two months. Today’s action is not a ruling on the petition’s merits and might only indicate the court’s preference to see if a decision on the Republicans’ arguments will be necessary, because the challenge will be moot if the electorate rejects the mid-decade redistricting proposal.
