redistrict / gerrymander

[WanderingOisin]

I'm glad to see this is going forward. This is one of the few things that give me a tiny bit of hope for the future of the state. Or maybe not, we'll see.

 

[EL1227]

But WAIT, there's more ...

WSJonline.com -
Maryland Election Map Goes Before Top Court
Justices will hear a case that challenges partisan gerrymandering in a 2011 redistricting

Whatever the Supreme Court decides to do, debate has continued in Maryland over the 2011 map.

Despite the state’s Democratic majority, voters elected Republican Larry Hogan as governor in 2014. He has complained about the congressional map and appointed a bipartisan commission to consider changes in redistricting procedures.

Mr. Eberly, of St. Mary’s College, said some of the possible changes might fly—such as applying to congressional districts Maryland’s current standards for legislative seats, which the state constitution says must be “compact in form” and reflect “natural boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions.”

“Hogan’s commission has a chance—as long as they don’t swing for the fences,” such as proposing to assign redistricting to an independent commission, the option the Supreme Court upheld in the June ruling. “Anything that would take the Legislature out of it just instantly dies,” Mr. Eberly said.

Hogan was on WMAL's Mornings On The Mall this AM, where they asked about the case and his plans.

 

[EL1227]

But WAIT, there's EVEN more ...

ABC2News.com -
No politicians would draw lines under final redistricting plan

The governor's Redistricting Reform Commission wrapped up its final report Tuesday calling for an independent, bipartisan commission of nine people to draw congressional and legislative district lines, with no politicians involved.

All but two Democratic legislators on the 11-member reform group voted for the final report setting up the kind of independent commission Gov. Larry Hogan had called for.

Good government groups in the Tame the Gerrymander coalition, including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, applauded the outcome. The Maryland Democratic Party called the work "fundamentally flawed" and "predetermined by a small group of Republican insiders."

The commission didn't 'swing for the fences' as noted in my post above, but Senate President "Mike' Miller says it is "dead on arrival" ...

Miller and Busch, Good for beer, Bad for Maryland.

 

[fightinbluhen51]

ABC2News.com -
No politicians would draw lines under final redistricting plan



The commission didn't 'swing for the fences' as noted in my post above, but Senate President "Mike' Miller says it is "dead on arrival" ...

Miller and Busch, Good for beer, Bad for Maryland.

There should be a floor petition process.

Those two leaches are a bunch of blood suckers.

 

[BeoBill]

Hand-in-hand with redistricting:

- Ballot Referenda Questions from the voters, not the MGA
- MGA term limits
- Officeholder recall mechanism

Just my two Drachma worth...

 

[Mr H]

Isn't this the same Mike Busch who finished 3d in his OWN district last election?!!

 

[EL1227]

Thread revival ...

Md. congressional districts violate First Amendment, lawsuit says

In the 2004 case Vieth v. Jubelirer, Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, concluded that it was impossible to come up with a sensible test to decide when lawmakers had gone too far in manipulating boundaries for partisan advantage.

But in a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy suggested that the First Amendment could be the basis for a challenge if plaintiffs could prove that redistricting created “disfavored treatment” of groups based on their voting preferences.

Shapiro and his attorney, Michael Kimberly, are attempting to slip through the door Kennedy left ajar.

 

[mxrider]

Apparently, this was heard by a 3 judge panel yesterday. I'm trying to find something related to it.

 

[Doctor_M]

Thought this was a pretty interesting graphic.

 

[Jim12]

There is a political solution, of sorts. Relentlessly criticize, mock, and accuse those who support these outrageous acts of disenfranchisement as being anti-democracy tyrants. By name. In their districts. In front of their regular home district, real-life offices. For their own constituents, customers, and clients to see.

 

[CrueChief]

There is a political solution, of sorts. Relentlessly criticize, mock, and accuse those who support these outrageous acts of disenfranchisement as being anti-democracy tyrants. By name. In their districts. In front of their regular home district, real-life offices. For their own constituents, customers, and clients to see.

That will just give them opportunity to say "I had nothing to do with this but I will do everything in my power to change it so everyone has a voice." Then all the sheeple will just go on doing there voting just as they always have.

 

[Mike OTDP]

I like the idea of getting rid of districts entirely in favor of Affirmative Representation. Voters vote for a statewide set of candidates. This can be mechanized in two ways...

1. The top 8 vote-getters get the Congressional seats. Note that this encourages the parties to field a limited number of candidates to ensure they win. In Maryland, the GOP might field 3-4 contenders. If the Dems try to grab everything, their vote will be split and the GOP can take more - it pays to not be a pig.

2. Cascading preferences. Voters rate all available candidates, say #1 to #16. As soon as a candidate has 1/8th of the voters vote FOR him, he's a Congressman. The remaining votes go to people's #2 pick until he gets enough to qualify.

3. Petition. Get enough signers, and you're a Congressman. 1 signature per voter...if you sign two, neither counts (if you can't count, your vote shouldn't, either).

I think Option 1 would be the easiest to implement.

 

[Blacksmith101]

I like the idea of getting rid of districts entirely in favor of Affirmative Representation. Voters vote for a statewide set of candidates. This can be mechanized in two ways...

1. The top 8 vote-getters get the Congressional seats. Note that this encourages the parties to field a limited number of candidates to ensure they win. In Maryland, the GOP might field 3-4 contenders. If the Dems try to grab everything, their vote will be split and the GOP can take more - it pays to not be a pig.

2. Cascading preferences. Voters rate all available candidates, say #1 to #16. As soon as a candidate has 1/8th of the voters vote FOR him, he's a Congressman. The remaining votes go to people's #2 pick until he gets enough to qualify.

3. Petition. Get enough signers, and you're a Congressman. 1 signature per voter...if you sign two, neither counts (if you can't count, your vote shouldn't, either).

I think Option 1 would be the easiest to implement.

Draw names out of a hat. Yes you will get some crooks but probably fewer then we get today and with a better chance of getting some honest people who will try to do the right thing. Add in strict term limits which will prevent building entrenched criminal enterprises and we should be better off.

And now the winner of the 3rd District is......6 7/8's!

 

[BeoBill]

Draw names out of a hat. Yes you will get some crooks but probably fewer then we get today and with a better chance of getting some honest people who will try to do the right thing. Add in strict term limits which will prevent building entrenched criminal enterprises and we should be better off.

And now the winner of the 3rd District is......6 7/8's!

That should be the next battle, after sensible redistricting.

And finally a recall mechanism, just to keep a small semblance of accountability.

 

[mxrider]

Do we have any source to an audio of the oral argument?

 

[hillbilly grandpa]

Guiding Principles

This is a long-standing issue both locally and nationally. I assume that there has been a great deal of work done at the "academic" level developing principles, protocols and best practices for the redistricting process that produces compact, contiguous districts based on "party-blind" criteria. Can anyone provide references where this kind of material and guidance can be found? It seems to me that this is a starting point for framing clear, actionable demands around this issue.

 

[EL1227]

But WAIT, there's more ...

Md. congressional districts violate First Amendment, lawsuit says

In the 2004 case Vieth v. Jubelirer, Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, concluded that it was impossible to come up with a sensible test to decide when lawmakers had gone too far in manipulating boundaries for partisan advantage.

But in a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy suggested that the First Amendment could be the basis for a challenge if plaintiffs could prove that redistricting created “disfavored treatment” of groups based on their voting preferences.

Shapiro and his attorney, Michael Kimberly, are attempting to slip through the door Kennedy left ajar.

U.S. judge: Miller, Busch must testify, turn over documents in redistricting case

SMOKING GUN ??? Where's MD's version of WikiLeaks when you need it ?

... U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar ruled Tuesday that the ability to discover evidence “lies at the heart of this case” and that the legislature’s direct role in the redistricting process “supports overcoming the legislative privilege.” Bredar wrote that the protections Miller and Busch had claimed do not apply in certain types of federal lawsuits, particularly those that don’t involve financial liability.

His order also applies to a number of other current and past state officials who have received subpoenas, including Jeanne D. Hitchcock, who chaired the state’s redistricting commission and was former Democratic governor Martin O’Malley’s appointments secretary; former commission member Richard Stewart; and state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery).

The plaintiffs are Maryland residents who have asked the court to block the state Board of Elections from enforcing the voting map, which they consider to be gerrymandered, or manipulated in favor of one political party.

The offices of Miller, Busch and state Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D), whose agency has defended state officials involved in the case, declined to comment on the decision.

 

[BeoBill]

From https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...7d6e6a3e7c_story.html?utm_term=.f61a7abeee89:

Miller said Wednesday that the Senate “will pass a bill this year that lumps states together” for redistricting purposes. He did not provide specifics.

Miller is either insane or senile. He cannot have a bill passed that purports to bind states other than Maryland.

 

[2nd=Good+Substantial]

From https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...7d6e6a3e7c_story.html?utm_term=.f61a7abeee89:


Miller is either insane or senile. He cannot have a bill passed that purports to bind states other than Maryland.

He is saying we'll undo our Democratic gerrymandering if Virginia undoes their Republican gerrymandering.

 

[Silent Partner]

He is saying we'll undo our Democratic gerrymandering if Virginia undoes their Republican gerrymandering.

Then using his logic we can expect our CHP's tomorrow.