Arizona Supreme Court Case Could Threaten Redistricting Commissions in these 6 States

Arizona Supreme Court Case Could Threaten Redistricting Commissions in these 6 States

By EditorMar 10, 2015
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The case centers around whether voters by initiative, can transfer the authority to redraw state and congressional boundaries from the state legislature to an independent commission, something Arizona has been doing since 2000. This Brennan Center report lists those states with commissions that could be in jeopardy should the Supreme Court side with the Arizona legislature in this case. Read the report here.
Elections Clause, FEATURES, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Commissions,
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UMass Lowell to Mark 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act

UMass Lowell to Mark 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act

By EditorMar 09, 2015
Contacts for media:  Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu LOWELL, Mass. – Fifty years ago this month, civil rights activists engaged in three historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., with the goal of demonstrating that black Americans wanted to exercise their constitutional right to vote. The marches were watershed moments in the nation’s struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. The first march was interrupted by a violent confrontation between activists and police. A second attempt led by Martin Luther King Jr. was also unsuccessful and that same day, a black minister from Boston was…
Redistricting Race Rules,
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission Case

By EditorMar 09, 2015
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The case revolves around the Republican-led legislatures' challenge to a state constitutional amendment that voters passed by initiative in 2000 giving a bipartisan commission control over redrawing Arizona's state and congressional district boundaries. While there are some initial issues of standing, the substantive question in this case will be whether the U.S. Constitution's Elections Clause prevents a state from transferring redistricting authority to an entity other than the legislature. So far, there have been several early impressions of the oral argument published, many…
Elections Clause, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Litigation, , , ,
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Election Assistance Commission Back in Action

Election Assistance Commission Back in Action

By EditorMar 04, 2015
Created in 2002 as part of the Help America Vote Act, the EAC was established to help states modernize antiquated voting systems in the wake of the infamous Florida recount of Bush v. Gore. The agency also certified election systems, created technical standards and acted as a clearinghouse for election and voting information. Until this January, the commission had been leaderless with all four commissioner spots open. Three commissioners were approved by congress last December and the commission held its first public meeting just last week. View the webcast here:
Redistricting, ,
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Early Analysis of Supreme Court Oral Argument in Arizona Redistricting Case

Early Analysis of Supreme Court Oral Argument in Arizona Redistricting Case

By EditorMar 03, 2015
Hear are early assessments of the Supreme Court's oral argument yesterday in Arizona Legislative Black Caucus v. Arizona. Click the links for analysis. SCOTUSBLOG: Argument analysis: Literalism vs. the power of the people NYT: Court Skeptical of Arizona Plan for Less-Partisan Congressional Redistricting NPR: Supreme Court Seems Divided Over Independent Redistricting Commissions Politico: High Court Hears Redistricting Case Election Law Blog: Analysis: Supreme Court Looks to Endanger Citizen Redistricting Commissions and MORE Christian Science Monitor: Supreme Court: Can independent commissions draw redistricting lines?    
Elections Clause, FEATURES, Redistricting,
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Supreme Court May Resurrect Alabama Legislative Black Caucus’ Equal Population Claims

Supreme Court May Resurrect Alabama Legislative Black Caucus’ Equal Population Claims

By EditorMar 02, 2015
The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus' Supreme Court Case was late last year, and focused on whether that state's 2012 legislative redistricting plan was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Interestingly, there was a second question presented in the case at the district court level: "whether the 2012 redistricting plans allocate control of local delegations in a manner which violates Equal Protection, effectively denying county residents equal voting rights." This "second" question is actually an equal population challenge, and is based on the redistricting maps' gratuitous breaching of county jurisdiction lines. In Alabama, it is local state legislative delegations that have most of…
Casedocs, Equal Protection, FEATURES, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , ,
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Previewing Supreme Court Oral Argument in Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission v. Arizona

Previewing Supreme Court Oral Argument in Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission v. Arizona

By EditorFeb 26, 2015
Michael Morley ( assistant professor of law at the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law at Barry University) and Nick Stephanopoulos (assistant professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School) join Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitutional Center to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court oral arguments in Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission v. Arizona scheduled for March 2nd. Listen to the podcast here.   http://www.podbean.com/media/player/tu8c9-54130f/initByJs/1/auto/1
Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions,
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Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Upheld by Federal Court

Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Upheld by Federal Court

By EditorFeb 25, 2015
Los Angeles - City Council President Herb Wesson was vindicated by a federal court's ruling that the council's controversial 2012 redistricting map was not an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.  Despite so-called damning video evidence submitted by plaintiffs that showed Wesson telling an audience that the map "guaranteed" at least two minority council members going forward, the court found the districts in question to be racially diverse and drawn in accordance with traditional redistricting principles. In the end, the court did not believe the entire council had racially discriminatory goals when drawing the map. Read the Article here.
Local Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Criteria, Redistricting Litigation, , ,
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