On January 23, several good-government groups filed this amicus curiae brief in Arizona State Legislature v Arizona State Redistricting Commission, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear on March 2, 2015. The issue is whether Arizona and other states can constitutionally let independent commissions draw boundaries for U.S. House districts. The legislature argues that Article One of the U.S. Constitution says only state legislatures can write election laws for congressional elections.
The amicus explains the harms that partisan gerrymandering does to the U.S. election system, and is signed by the ACLU, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, and the League of Women Voters of the U.S. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
NONSTOP minority rule gerrymanders in A-L-L States since 1776.
1/2 or less votes x 1/2 pack/crack gerrymander districts = 1/4 or less CONTROL.
MUCH worse primary math – around 5-10 percent.
Result – EVIL and VICIOUS minority rule tyrant oligarchs making most of the laws in the States.
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P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
The brief argues that independent commissions “can” cure political gerrymandering, not that they will. Lots of things can cure political gerrymandering; that they can does not make them constitutional. Another “can” is curing limitations on ballot access. With multiple parties, political gerrymandering would be much more difficult. Rather than subvert the Constitution by stripping control from elected legislators, the Court ought to enforce the Constitution and strike down restrictive ballot access laws.
What century will a genius lawyer inform the SCOTUS MORONS that each election is N-E-W —
i.e. to have EQUAL ballot access requirements for ALL candidates for the same office in the same area.
See Brown v. Bd of Ed 1954 —
Separate stuff is NOT equal stuff.
Folks should look at the briefs attacking ALL popular initiatives going back to 1898 in SD.
The gerrymander hacks (and their stooge lawyer hacks] are on the march — trying to get PERMANENT minority rule control of the USA Congress and ALL State legislatures.
There were no ballot access laws when Elbridge Gerry (his party really) drafted his clever districting plan.
The initiative can also be used to gerrymander. Mark Hanna pushed for the a constitutional amendment that guaranteed each county a representative. While not strictly speaking an initiative, it received 96.6% support.
In California, the redistricting commission created by the initiative process sought to thwart a referendum on its senate map.