February 2022 — Page 3

By: Connor Skelly

On September 29, 2021, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed legislation creating new maps for Maine’s Congressional, State House, and State Senate districts. In Maine, the power to draw districts is given to a bipartisan apportionment commission.

The composition of this commission is mandated by the Maine Constitution to be: three members of the Maine House of Representatives from the majority party who shall be appointed by the House Speaker; three members of the House from the next largest party who shall be appointed by that party’s leader; two members of the majority party from the state Senate who shall be appointed by the President of the Senate; two members of the Senate from the next largest party who shall be appointed by their party’s Floor Leader, the chairperson of each of Maine’s two major political parties; and three members of the public.

By: Sarah Fisher

In March 2021, Virginia—a state historically marked by racially discriminatory practices in voting—became the first state formerly covered by the landmark federal 1965 Voting Rights Act to adopt state-level voting rights legislation modeled off of the Civil Rights Era measure.

Under the 1965 Act, certain cities, counties, and states with a history of race-based discrimination in voting were required to seek approval (called “preclearance”) from the United States Attorney General before making any changes to their election laws, regulations, or practices. The group of states and municipalities required to seek preclearance was determined by a formula that considered the jurisdiction’s use of certain discriminatory voting practices (such as poll taxes) and the jurisdiction’s voter registration and participation rates as of 1968.

Maine Completes Expedited Redistricting

Virginia Passes State-Level Voting Rights Measure Mirroring Original Federal 1965 Voting Rights Act

Archives for February 2022