Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

By EditorMar 23, 2015
Pasadena, Texas: MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)  filed suit this past November after the Mayor of Pasadena, Texas successfully pushed a proposition to voters that would change an 8 member city council elected by district to one with 6 single member districts and 2 members elected at-large, by the entire city. Advocates of the narrowly passed measure touted it as a way to ensure that there are some council members looking out for the city as a whole, as opposed to narrowly focusing on the voters in their own district. What sounds like a good democratic goal…
Redistricting, ,
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ACLU Files Voting Rights Lawsuit in Fullerton, CA

ACLU Files Voting Rights Lawsuit in Fullerton, CA

By EditorMar 19, 2015
Fullerton, CA: The ACLU  filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Asian voters in the city of Fullerton, California. The suit alleges that Fullerton's at-large style elections impede the ability of Asian voters to elect their preferred candidates. Unlike, its lawsuit in Yakima, WA, this complaint is based on the California Voting Rights Act as opposed to the federal law. Read the ACLU's release from Wednesday below: Paik v. City of Fullerton is a lawsuit alleging that the City of Fullerton’s at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), which prevents cities from imposing at-large elections that deny minority communities the…
Local Redistricting, Redistricting, ,
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New Developments in Yakima, WA Vote Dilution Case

New Developments in Yakima, WA Vote Dilution Case

By EditorMar 19, 2015
Yakima, WA: The Yakima city council voted this week to give themselves more time to decide if the council will appeal a recent federal court ruling invalidating its at-large method of electing city council members. The Hispanic population in the city is 42% and Hispanic voters had been unable to an elect a candidate of their choosing in the at-large scheme. The court had to make a finding of racially polarized voting in past election to invalidate the at-large system. The recent court ruling required the city to divide voters into districts, both the city and the ACLU -who was a…
Local Redistricting, Redistricting, ,
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The Census Bureau Warms Up to Prison Gerrymandering

The Census Bureau Warms Up to Prison Gerrymandering

By EditorMar 16, 2015
The Census Bureau boasted in its 2010 View from the States,” that it has listened to state requests and is working toward helping states facilitate the latest redistricting trend: prisoner reallocation. The Bureau announced that it would conduct a feasibility study regarding prisoner reallocation - counting prisoners at their last residential address, although a previous study nearly ten years go found it to be cost prohibitive. Currently, the two states that have already endeavored to reallocate prisoners have used the Bureau’s Group Quarters file, which was released early during the 2010 census cycle for that purpose. The group quarters data…
Redistricting, Redistricting Prisoners, ,
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Do Ineligible Voters Infringe on Eligible Voter’s Rights?

Do Ineligible Voters Infringe on Eligible Voter’s Rights?

By EditorMar 11, 2015
The Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take the case of a Texas voter who claims that her vote has been unconstitutionally diluted because her rural district has substantially more voters compared to other, urban districts comprised of many noncitizen, ineligible voters. The claim is that this makes her vote less influential than her counterparts in urban districts. The practical question in this case is whether line-drawers should be using 'total population' or "citizen voting age population' as the measure for drawing equally populated election districts. This Cato Institute article explains the case; Evenwel v. Abbott  in more detail.
Redistricting, , ,
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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

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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