Redistricting not dead?

[question everything]

Thursday, December 1, 2005

Redistricting not dead?

Lawmakers say they're working on reapportionment reform

By DANIEL WEINTRAUB

Of the four measures backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and rejected by the voters Nov. 8, the one with the greatest chance of living on in another form is Proposition 77, his proposal to take the job of drawing political boundaries away from the Legislature.

(snip)

While little understood by most voters, the art of drawing district lines is the DNA of our political system, the basic building block from which all other decisions flow. How the lines are drawn can influence what kind of people get elected, how they interact with each other and how they do their jobs, even if the partisan mix remains essentially unchanged.

(snip)

SCA3 would create a five-member commission, with four members appointed by legislative leaders from a pool nominated by a panel of retired judges. Those four would choose the fifth member, who would not be a member of either party and who would, in effect, be a swing vote... But picking the commission is only half the task. The rules under which it operates can be just as important.

Lowenthal's bill and Prop. 77 both required the line-drawers to pay heed to the federal Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities from having their influence diluted by overly creative boundaries. Both also sought to minimize the splitting of cities and counties into separate districts. But unlike Prop. 77, Lowenthal's proposal also called for the recognition of what are known as "communities of interest," a term that could lead to just about anything.

(snip)

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/columns/article_866598.php

[SF Bay Area Dem]

1. Um... didn't the voters of California speak and reject this? n/t

[Xithras]

2. The method, not the idea

This state has some districts that are gerrymandered horribly, and that really does need to be fixed. It was the Ahnold plan that was rejected, not redistricting reform itself.

[davidinalameda]

3. you want to see some screwed up districts

take a look at the Georgia congressional map

that map would make Picasso proud