Cite as: 588 U. S. ____ (2019)
15
Opinion of the Court
III
A
In considering whether partisan gerrymandering claims
are justiciable, we are mindful of Justice Kennedy’s counsel in Vieth: Any standard for resolving such claims must
be grounded in a “limited and precise rationale” and be
“clear, manageable, and politically neutral.” 541 U. S., at
306–308 (opinion concurring in judgment). An important
reason for those careful constraints is that, as a Justice
with extensive experience in state and local politics put it,
“[t]he opportunity to control the drawing of electoral
boundaries through the legislative process of apportionment is a critical and traditional part of politics in the
United States.” Bandemer, 478 U. S., at 145 (opinion of
O’Connor, J.). See Gaffney, 412 U. S., at 749 (observing
that districting implicates “fundamental ‘choices about the
nature of representation’ ” (quoting Burns v. Richardson,
384 U. S. 73, 92 (1966))). An expansive standard requiring
“the correction of all election district lines drawn for partisan reasons would commit federal and state courts to
unprecedented intervention in the American political
process,” Vieth, 541 U. S., at 306 (opinion of Kennedy, J.).
As noted, the question is one of degree: How to
“provid[e] a standard for deciding how much partisan
dominance is too much.” LULAC, 548 U. S., at 420 (opinion of Kennedy, J.). And it is vital in such circumstances
that the Court act only in accord with especially clear
standards: “With uncertain limits, intervening courts—
even when proceeding with best intentions—would risk
assuming political, not legal, responsibility for a process
that often produces ill will and distrust.” Vieth, 541 U. S.,
at 307 (opinion of Kennedy, J.). If federal courts are to
“inject [themselves] into the most heated partisan issues”
by adjudicating partisan gerrymandering claims,
Bandemer, 478 U. S., at 145 (opinion of O’Connor, J.), they
must be armed with a standard that can reliably differen-