State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Redistricting

Rejection of West Virginia congressional map creates more questions than answers

· ·

by Chris Lewis

On Jan. 4, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia rejected the state’s new congressional map, the second state to have its map thrown out by the courts this redistricting cycle (Texas’ map was rejected in November). The 2-1 opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District declared the maps unconstitutional due to population variance between the districts, a violation of the “one man, one vote” principle that has been in effect since the 1960’s. While it is commendable that the judges had this tenet in mind when crafting its decision, they deserve scrutiny for a result that will likely have little real impact outside of headaches for state officials and confusion for voters.

Unlike its counterpart in the Lone Star State, West Virginia’s map was passed without much acrimony, overwhelmingly approved by votes of 27-4 in the State Senate and 90-5 in the House of Delegates.  Though Democrats control both houses, just three Republicans voted against the new map, a stark contrast to other states that have seen redistricting turn into bitter partisan battles.  The legislature made just one change, shifting Mason County from the 2nd District (represented by Republican Shelley Moore Capito) to the 3rd District (represented by Democrat Nick Rahall).  The change represented about a one percent change in party affiliation in both districts. [Read more…] about Rejection of West Virginia congressional map creates more questions than answers

A community of interest speaks

· ·

by Colleen Nichols

Sussex County, Delaware may have just passed its redistricting plan, but not all members of the Sussex County community were pleased with the proposed districts.  On October 25, 2011, Jo Klinge, member of the League of Women Voters of Sussex County Redistricting Committee and editor of the LWVSC Voter newsletter, testified at the Sussex County Council hearing that the League still had very strong concerns with Sussex County’s proposed redistricting plan. She agreed to speak with me about these concerns.

The League of Women Voters of Sussex County Officers: Left to right: Valerie Driscoll, Cathy Ward, Sheila Zanine, Anne Riley, Jo Klinge (Missing: Esther Shelton) (from http://www.sussexlwv.org/about.html)

Q.  What community of interest does the League of Women Voters of Sussex County represent?

A.  The League does not represent a community of interest as we define the term. Many of our members live in the Cape Region, but we were not speaking for that community.

Q.  What are the goals of the League’s community of interest? [Read more…] about A community of interest speaks

Open Up Elections With Proportional Voting

· ·

guest blog by Elise Helgesen and Rob Richie of FairVote

The battle over legislative redistricting in states around the country this year provides strong evidence of the failure of winner-take-all elections in single-member districts in modern America. In these districts huge numbers of people will, by design, be left feeling that they are without meaningful political representation – and without a realistic chance to change it.

Although seen as the norm in the United States, winner-take-all elections invite computer-facilitated partisan gerrymandering. The power to gerrymander districts is grounded in the simple fact that, given most voters’ strong opinions about the two major parties, outcomes are predictable in any district that leans more than 55% for one party. That makes it easy to make seats “safe,” especially given natural differences in voter opinion in different areas [Read more…] about Open Up Elections With Proportional Voting

When a state’s constitution says “2011” does it really mean “2011?”

· ·

by Davis Walsh

Virginia’s House of Delegates appears ready to push Congressional redistricting to 2012, when Republicans will effectively control both the Commonwealth’s House and Senate. But such an action may be impermissible because Virginia’s Constitution, Article II, Section 6, mandates redistricting be completed in 2011, but the Constitution prescribes no express penalties for the failure to adopt a plan in 2011. The question that this situation presents is whether the General Assembly can ignore a provision of the Commonwealth’s Constitution when that provision includes no penalties.

Earlier this year, the Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican House of Delegates agreed on state General Assembly redistricting,  but each house passed competing plans for Congressional redistricting. The Republican House of Delegates plan would keep the Commonwealth’s split of eight Republicans and three Democrats in Congress. The Democratic Senate’s plan would create a new minority influence district, which would provide minorities with a substantial number of voters in a district but not a majority. [Read more…] about When a state’s constitution says “2011” does it really mean “2011?”

Idaho localities sue over redistricting

· ·

by Daniel Page

Idaho’s redistricting problems seem far from over. Several localities are less than pleased with the second redistricting commission’s adopted plan. Several Counties, county commissioners, and cities, including Twin Falls County, Teton County, and Owyhee County have collectively sued the redistricting commission and the Secretary of State. The plaintiffs are complaining because of map L87, which divides the state into 35 districts, each of which may elect two representatives and one senator. Each of these localities dislikes the way the lines were drawn because it divides the localities and combines them with other localities, diluting the plaintiffs’ votes.

Idaho districts

In a 2002 case called Bingham County v. Idaho Commission for Reapportionment, Idaho recognized that under Brown v. Thomson, any redistricting plan with a deviation of more than 10% was prima facie violative of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. In that case, the Idaho Supreme Court stated: [Read more…] about Idaho localities sue over redistricting