Justices hear challenge to independent electoral map drawers

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal from Arizona Republicans who want to take away a voter-approved commission's power to draw the state's congressional district boundaries.

The case before the court Monday considers whether voters can cut elected lawmakers out of redistricting in an effort to reduce political influence in the drawing of district lines for members of the U.S. House. A decision striking down the Arizona commission would doom a similar system in neighboring California and could affect districting commissions in an additional 11 states.

The justices have been unwilling to limit excessive partisanship in redistricting, known as gerrymandering. A gerrymander is a district that is intentionally drawn, and sometimes oddly shaped, to favor one political party.

Independent commissions such as Arizona's "may be the only meaningful check" left to states that want to foster more competitive elections, reduce political polarization and bring fresh faces into the political process, the Obama administration said.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this March 25, 2014, file photo, attorney Paul Clement speaks to reporters in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Arizona Republicans on March 2, 2015,who want to take away a voter-approved commission{2019}s power to draw the state{2019}s congressional district boundaries. {201c}"Whatever their shortcomings, state legislatures are elected, politically accountable and hand-picked" by the Constitution{2019}s authors for the map-drawing task, said Clement, who is representing the Arizona legislature at the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150302/us--supreme_court-arizona_redistricting-e5566c0cac.html

[still_one]

1. more gerrymandering bullshit from the rethugs

[wolfie001]

2. 20-25 percent of the voting public have an abnormal and unhealthy amount.....

.....of influence on our elections. I'm talking about the racist bigots that are in the Re-Thug party. That percentage may be higher but there is no way to study these GOoPers in any scientific manner.

[cheapdate]

3. Without knowing any of the specifics, I don't recall constitutional provisions

that dictate the process for designing state's electoral boundaries.

This is state politics. It can get ugly, but unless there's fraud, corruption, or violation of established rules, the remedy is at the ballot box, not in the courts.

[happyslug]

6. The Plaintiffs are relying in Article 1, Paragraph 4:

The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei#section4

The Plaintiffs content that the term "Legislature" means ONLY the Arizona legislature NOT the people in the form of an Independent Committee. i.e. deciding on HOW elections for Congress are to be held MUST be set by the Legislature and that power can NOT be taken from them. this includes the right to gerrymander as the legislature sees fit.

[cheapdate]

7. Thanks for that.

Seems like an easy question to me (I realize it's never simple at this level). The independent committee is a process "prescribed...by the legislature." And anyway, if the legislature keeps the power to approve the committee's work, it's not much different than if the legislative staff did some of the work. I don't think the Constitution meant that the legislators had to actually do all of the work completely and personally by themselves without any assistance.

[happyslug]

4. Here are the briefs in this case:

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/preview_home/13-1314.html

[blackspade]

5. Scumbags.

And Clement is full of shit.

"Whatever their shortcomings, state legislatures are elected, politically accountable and hand-picked" by the Constitution's authors for the map-drawing task, said Clement

Apparently the will of the the electorate that seeks to hold their elected reps accountable flew right over his corrupt ass.