WASHINGTON _ Two conservative Republican House members said they didn't intend to put their names on a legal filing that urges the U.S. Supreme Court to curb partisan gerrymandering for the first time.
Reps. Mark Meadows and Walter Jones of North Carolina had been among 36 current and former House members of both parties who submitted the brief. It argues that gerrymandering _ the practice of drawing voting lines to maximize partisan advantage _ has "corrosive effects." The filing includes several quotes from Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
Meadows' spokesman, Ben Williamson, said in an email the congressman's name was "added in error" after he had agreed to review the document. Jones's spokeswoman, Allison Tucker, cited a "misunderstanding." Both offices said the names had been removed from the brief, which was originally filed this week.
Meadows and Jones had been noteworthy names in a case likely to divide the court along ideological lines, with conservatives opposing constitutional limits on gerrymandering. The Oct. 3 argument will center on a Wisconsin map that a lower court said was designed to keep Republicans in control of the state legislature even if they didn't win most of the votes.
