On April 20, the Arizona Supreme Court issued this unanimous 31-page opinion in Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission v Brewer, cv-11-0313. Arizona has an independent redistricting commission composed of two Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent. On October 26, 2011, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer removed the chair of the Commission, Colleen Mathis. The Arizona Constitution permits a Governor to remove a member of the commission for gross misconduct, if two-thirds of the Senate agree. On November 1, 2011, two-thirds of the Senate did agree with the Governor’s action.
The Commission then sued the Governor, and the State Supreme Court ruled that the removal was unlawful. Now the Court has explained the basis for its ruling.
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AUTOMATIC indirect minority rule in ALL single member district systems.
1/2 votes x 1/2 districts = 1/4 control.
TOTAL brain dead politics in the U.S.A.
The selection process in Arizona is fundamentally flawed. They let the legislative leaders pick the two partisan members for each party, and then they pick the “independent” member.
If the “independent” leans one way, everything can be approved on a 3-2 vote.