TPMMuckraker Redistricting
by Lois Beckett ProPublica
As we've been documenting in our ongoing series, political parties and other powerful players use the once-a-decade redistricting process to advance their own goals--often at the expense of voters.
A recently released trove of e-mails from Ohio offers a rare inside glimpse into how it works.
The e-mails, sent from June to September, show collaboration between the national GOP and state Republicans to re-draw Ohio's map and thus cement control of both the statehouse and a majority of congressional districts.
In one of the emails, a Republican consultant working on redistricting for the state suggested that the new political maps could save the GOP "millions" of dollars in campaign funds by making districts safer for Republican candidates.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: John Boehner, Redistricting, Voting
Rick Perry
Election Lawyer: Supreme Court Hearing Texas Redistricting Case Shows Their Partisanship
Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)
The nine (or is it eight?) members of the Supreme Court are set to decide whether redistricting maps drawn by a federal court (after separate maps signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry were found to be discriminatory) can go into effect.
The Supreme Court's one paragraph order on Friday placed a stay on the implementation of the maps, tossing Texas's congressional and state legislature elections into chaos. Political observers and participants in the case are still trying to figure out exactly what it means for the election timeline. A hearing is set for Jan. 9.
Gerry Hebert, an election lawyer in D.C. who is working for intervenors in the redistricting case, told TPM that the Supreme Court's decision shows that they're "just another governmental institution in Washington that's highly partisan."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Justice Department, Redistricting, Rick Perry, Texas, Voting, Voting Rights Act
Eric Holder
Court Orders Trial Over Texas Redistricting Plan Signed By Rick Perry
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)
A panel of judges in Washington, D.C. has ordered that there should be a trial on the Texas redistricting maps signed by Gov. Rick Perry, denying the state's request to approve the maps DOJ argues limit the power of Hispanic voters.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Eric Holder, Redistricting, Rick Perry, Texas
Jan Brewer
Jan Brewer Ousts Chief Of AZ Independent Redistricting Commission
Arizona's Republican-controlled Senate upheld a decision by Gov. Jan Brewer (R) to oust the chair of the state's Independent Redistricting Commission, citing "gross misconduct" and Democratic bias.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Arizona, Jan Brewer, Redistricting
Rick Perry
Feds: Rick Perry-Signed Texas Redistricting Plan Reduces Voting Power Of 479,704 Hispanics
Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)
There is "ample circumstantial evidence" that the congressional and state representative redistricting maps signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry had not only the effect but the intent of limiting the voting power of Hispanic voters, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing late Tuesday.
DOJ is seeking to block the maps, filing to deny Texas' request for summary judgement in a case involving allegations that state officials tried to limit the voter power of Hispanic voters in violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Federal lawyers contended in the newest filing that there is "ample circumstantial evidence of a discriminatory purpose with regard to both the State House and Congressional plans" and that in the new maps nearly half a million fewer Hispanics would live in districts where they would have the ability to elect a candidate of their choosing.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: DOJ, DOJ Civil Rights Division, Lamar Smith, Redistricting, Rick Perry, Texas, Voter Data, Voter suppression, Voting, Voting Rights Act
Rick Perry
Judges Say Texas Can't Move Forward With Redistricting Plans The Feds Say Are Discriminatory
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) holds a copy of his book
A panel of three federal judges ordered Texas not to move forward with redistricting plans for both congressional and state legislative seats until they are approved in court.
Justice Department lawyers have declared in court that they believe the congressional and statehouse redistricting plans signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry have been adopted at least in part for the purpose of "diminishing the ability of citizens of the United States, on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, to elect their preferred candidates."
They've argued that regardless of intent, the plans would have the effect of diminishing the ability of Hispanic voters to pick their preferred candidates.
A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio ruled that Texas should wait until the courts rule on the legality of the maps. In San Antonio, the panel of judges has heard testimony about the maps but hasn't ruled on their legality, while the D.C. panel -- charged with deciding whether to preclear the maps -- won't hold hearings for a month, according to the Texas Tribune. The court in San Antonio is handling a separate suit filed by opponents of the plan, while court in D.C. is handling the suit involving the Justice Department.
"According to the Texas Election Code, any changes that must be made in the county election precinct boundaries 'to give effect to a redistricting plan' must be finalized by October 1, 2011," the judges wrote, according to the Texas Tribune. "Because the redistricting plans have not been precleared ... all persons or entities that would otherwise have a duty under Section 42.032 of the Texas Election Code are relieved of those duties until further order of the Court."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Justice Department, Obama Administration, Redistricting, Rick Perry, Texas
Rick Perry
DOJ: Rick Perry's Texas Congressional Redistricting Map Violates Voting Rights Act
Texas Governor and Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (R)
Updated: September 19, 2011, 4:27PM
The Justice Department said Monday that Texas' state House and congressional redistricting plans didn't comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting power to the growing Latino population in the state.
Officials with DOJ's Civil Rights Division said the proposed redistricting plan for the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the state Senate complied with the Voting Rights Act, but indicated they had concerns with the state House plan and the plan for congressional redistricting.
The federal government "[denied] that the proposed Congressional plan, as compared with the benchmark, maintains or increases the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice in each district protected by Section 5," DOJ lawyers write in a filing. "Defendants deny that the proposed Congressional plan complies with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Civil Rights, Civil Rights Division, Civil Rights Division Voting Section, DOJ, DOJ Civil Rights Division, Eric Holder, Justice Department, Obama Administration, Redistricting, Republicans, Rick Perry, Texas, Voting, Voting Rights Act
Rick Perry
Top Perry Patron Has Ties To DeLay Redistricting Scandal
While the East Coast braces itself for the ravages of Hurricane Irene this weekend, a tempest of another kind will be building in Texas.
Texas Gov. Ricky Perry is attending a Christian "call to action" retreat for top donors at the Texas Hill Country ranch of one of his biggest patrons and political supporters, prominent San Antonio doctor and hospital-bed magnate James Leininger.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bob Perry, Jack Abramoff, James Leininger, Redistricting, Rick Perry, TRMPAC, Texas, Tom DeLay
Voter suppression
NC Democrats Call Redistricting Proposal a Violation of Voting Rights Act
North Carolina Democratic lawmakers are up in arms over proposed redistricting changes revealed by state Republicans last week.
Proposals to redraw district lines are always contentious since they alter the political prospects of incumbents. But this time, Democratic lawmakers are raising objections based on not only electoral politics but also on race.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: North Carolina, Redistricting, Voter suppression, Voting, Voting Rights Act
