A Look at the New Redistricting Process in New York

By Michelle DavisSep 15, 2020

2021 will be the first time New York conducts redistricting under a new regime. In 2014, as part of a political compromise between the legislature and governor, a constitutional amendment was proposed and eventually approved by voters that establish a redistricting advisory commission, new redistricting criteria, and other rules to increase fairness and participation in the redistricting process. Here is a summary of the process. Redistricting Commission: The amendment creates a 10-member commission, eight of whom are chosen by legislative leaders (speaker, senate president and the minority leaders in each house). Four members are chosen from the majority party and…

FEATURES, Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissionscommission, new york, policyindepth, reform, STATENEWS, States

Video: California Commission Holds First Meeting. Discusses Census Delays and Accuracy

By Michelle DavisSep 09, 2020

The 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission has recently formed and sworn in all 14 of its members. Below is a clip from the first full meeting on August 26th. The entire virtual meeting is over five hours long with mostly procedural issues discussed in the first several hours. The clip below is the final 90 minutes, in which commission members were briefed on possible census delays, and a recent court decision extending the commission's deadlines for maps. Members also discussed whether to compose an amicus brief or letter of support in a recent lawsuit against the Census Bureau's plan to…

NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Commissions, VIDEOCalifornia, commission, States

Oregon Redistricting Commission Ballot Measure Efforts TimeOut

By Michelle DavisSep 04, 2020

At least one news outlet has described the failed Oregon redistricting reform ballot initiative as a "dramatic legal saga." By all accounts, they would be correct. You can read a detailed account from Oregon Public Broadcasting here and here. Read below for a quick summary. a group wishing to put a question on the November ballot to approve a nonpartisan redistricting commission for Oregon districts failed to obtain the 155,000 signatures needed.the group successfully argued in a federal district court that the pandemic unfairly restricted signature-gathering efforts. The court ultimately allowed a lower signature requirement of 59,000.the state Attorney General…

NEWS, Redistricting, REFORM, State Lawscommission, legal, lpstatelaw, Oregon, reform, States

Basics: California Citizens Redistricting Commission Selection Process

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020

The California Citizen's Redistricting Commission (CRC) selected its final members for its 14-member body on August 7. CRC will redraw the lines for California's Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts, based on information gathered during the 2020 census. The CRC must draw the districts in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules designed to create districts of relatively equal population. The CRC's selection process is a multi-layered one conducted by the State Auditor's Office. It designed to be a mostly nonpartisan, and partly random process in which eight members are selected initially. Those initial eight members must agree on…

Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting, Redistricting CommissionsBASICS, California, commission, crc

Do Independent Redistricting Commissions Produce Neutral Maps?

By Michelle DavisJul 02, 2019

After the Supreme Court's exit from the partisan gerrymandering business last week, the focus will likely turn to the states. The call for independent redistricting commissions will be key to any reform strategy. A group of government and political science professors provided some insight into the question of whether these commissions actually work to produce nonpartisan, or "less" partisan maps. Their preliminary evidence suggests that it does. "The nonpartisan-drawn maps tended to be more symmetrical on average after redistricting. In other words, they tended to treat both parties similarly. This suggests that nonpartisan bodies have successfully neutralized partisan bias, as…

FEATURES, Redistricting Gerrymanders, REFORMAnalysis, commission, Independent Redistricting Commission, partisan symmetry, policyindepth, redistricting

Arizona County Announces Reform Commission After Primary Election Disaster

By EditorMay 11, 2016

Arizona - After a fiasco of a primary election, Maricopa County, Arizona will establish a new election reform commission to provide "oversight" over election officials. Maricopa's election "disaster" included long waiting lines to vote after a nearly 70% decrease in polling places, errors on the ballots, and flawed registration procedures. The Phoenix New Times reports the county recorder and Secretary of State are resisting calls for resignation after this election administration failure. Read more.

REFORMArizona, commission, election administration, election reform, Maricopa County