Colorado Redistricting Reform Fails

Colorado Redistricting Reform Fails

By EditorJul 06, 2016
Colorado - The State's Supreme Court has thrown out two constitutional ballot measures that would have changed how Colorado draws its congressional and state legislative maps. A 4-3 decision ruled that the measures were in violation of the state constitution's "single-subject" rule. The measures would have established a 12- member nonpartisan commission to redraw congressional and state legislative districts. Read more here.
Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, REFORM, ,
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Book Review: Daley’s “Rat**cked” Tackles Redistricting Through the Decades

Book Review: Daley’s “Rat**cked” Tackles Redistricting Through the Decades

By EditorJun 27, 2016
New York - Pulitzer prize-winning writer Elizabeth Kolbert and staff writer for the New Yorker, reviews this book: "Ratf**ked," detailing the Republican party's Redistricting Majority Project or "REDMAP." This was a strategic effort beginning decades ago to realign the electoral map in favor the party.  Written by David Daley, editor of Salon.com - the book describes its provocative title as an actual term of art, associated with dirty tricks for partisan advantage; gerrymandering was one of them.  Spoiler alert: the Voting Rights Act helped their efforts, especially in the 1990's.  Interestingly, Kolbert's article identifies Virginian Patrick Henry as the first person…
Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, REFORM, , , , ,
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Virginia Mistakenly Restored Voting Rights to “Worst Sexual Predators”

By EditorJun 23, 2016
Virginia - Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s April restoration of voting rights to felons that have completed their full sentence, hit a snafu last week when it was discovered that a small group of "ineligible" people had been inadvertently put on the list of eligible voters; Sex offenders who have been civilly committed to a treatment facility. Read more at triblive.
Redistricting,
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North Carolina Voter ID Law On Appeal

North Carolina Voter ID Law On Appeal

By EditorJun 21, 2016
North Carolina - The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument this week on the challenge to the state's Voter Identification requirement for registering to vote.  The 2013 changes in the law include: a photo identification requirement a reduced early voting period elimination of same-day registration during the early voting period; and disqualification of ballots cast in the wrong voting precinct. A preliminary injunction is temporarily allowing out-of-precinct voting and same-day registration pending a court decision. Read more at WRAL.com.
Redistricting,
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Prison Gerrymandering Decision Halted in Rhode Island

Prison Gerrymandering Decision Halted in Rhode Island

By EditorJun 19, 2016
Cranston, Rhode Island – A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a lower court decision and order to redraw the city’s legislative boundaries pending an appellate hearing. A U.S. District Court had found that the Cranston city ward map violated the equal population mandate required under the U.S. Constitution by including the local (nonvoting) prison population in one of the wards. Thus, an initial “win” for prison gerrymandering advocates has been put on hold. A state chapter of the ACLU initiated the original lawsuit on behalf of 4 Cranston residents. The lower court judge had ordered the City redraw its…
Redistricting, REFORM, , , , ,
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City in Orange County California Skips Court and Abolishes At-Large Voting

City in Orange County California Skips Court and Abolishes At-Large Voting

By EditorJun 16, 2016
San Juan Capistrano, CA - This town of around 35,000 in Orange County, California boasts a burgeoning Latino population of nearly 40%. City council members have been historically elected at-large by city voters, but a recent lawsuit field by a Latino voting rights group sparked debate and in the end, city officials agreed to elect council members by district; five districts to be exact.       The elections for the districts are staggered; two seats will be up this year. The remaining in 2018. Once all of the districts are in place, Latinos will comprise a substantial portion of two districts,…
Local Redistricting, Redistricting, , , ,
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Advocacy Groups in Wisconsin Want A Court Order Allowing Voters Without ID To Vote

Advocacy Groups in Wisconsin Want A Court Order Allowing Voters Without ID To Vote

By EditorJun 15, 2016
Madison, Wisconsin - A 2011 voter identification law is still tied up in court, even after clearing at least one challenge in federal court.  Civil rights and voter's groups are still aiming for the law however, and have requested the court to issue a temporary order that would allow voters without the proper to identification, to vote in the upcoming elections. The law at issue requires the following types of identification to cast a vote at the polls in Wisconsin: Wisconsin driver's license or state ID card; a U.S. passport, military ID card; a college ID meeting certain requirements; a…
Redistricting, , ,
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Virginia Supreme Court to Mull Governor’s Felon Voting Rights Expansion

Virginia Supreme Court to Mull Governor’s Felon Voting Rights Expansion

By EditorJun 10, 2016
Virginia - The Virginia Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s April order restoring voting rights to over 200,000 of the state's felons in a special session scheduled for Tuesday, July 19. The Virginia Attorney General plans a four-point defense of the governor's authority under the State constitution to restore felon voting rights. Read more in the Richmond Free Press. The change is sweeping: Nearly half of African-Americans in Virginia, which makeup 20% of the population - are affected by the civil war era law. Read more in the New York Times. Watch a local television…
Redistricting,
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Several Ohio Election Administration Practices Invalidated by Courts

Several Ohio Election Administration Practices Invalidated by Courts

By EditorJun 10, 2016
Ohio - A federal judge blocked several restrictions on the casting and counting of absentee ballots instituted by the Republican Secretary of State.  This is the second defeat to GOP-backed voting restrictions in the state in the last two weeks. GOP voting procedures have been rebuffed on constitutional grounds by both Democrat and Republican judges.  Officials still plan to appeal. Read more in the Columbus Dispatch. Another federal judge restored the state's elimination of a specific time period that eligible voters could register and cast an absentee ballot on the same day. A shortened early voting period was also restored. Read more in…
REFORM, , ,
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