There are still 3 ways to fight partisan gerrymandering after the Supreme Court defeat

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority decided that federal courts have no say in partisan gerrymandering, or the practice of state lawmakers drawing electoral districts to boost their own party at the state and federal level. Advocates of fair and representative electoral maps aren't without options, though. Here are three paths the Supreme Court left open, for now:

1. State courts

The Supreme Court "explicitly said" partisan-gerrymandering lawsuits "are still fair game in state courts," Politico notes. Pennsylvania's high court threw out gerrymandered districts last year, and the next test case will be North Carolina, where Democrats are challenging GOP-drawn state maps at the state Supreme Court, where six of seven justices ran as Democrats. But 38 states use elections as part of the process to fill their high courts, The Washington Post cautions, and "Republicans are highly organized at the state level and have been successful at filling judiciary seats with conservatives."

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2. Nonpartisan redistricting systems

In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed to some of independent or nonpartisan redistricting processes created by states like Florida, Michigan, Colorado, and Ohio. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, now head of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said his group is pushing for nonpartisan redistricting changes in Arkansas, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma in 2020. But a narrow 5-4 Supreme Court majority upheld independent redistricting commissions in 2014, with retired Justice Anthony Kennedy the deciding vote and Roberts voting no, so reformers are concerned this avenue might close, too.

3. The ballot box

State and federal districts will be drawn in 2021, after the 2020 census, and one way to get representative maps is, as Holder said, electing candidates "who support fair maps." Or maybe divided government: Republicans control the governorship and legislature in 22 states, versus the Democrats' 14. National elections matter, too. House Democrats have approved legislation requiring states to establish independent, nonpartisan commissions, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vows he won't allow it to get a vote in the Senate.