Redistricting 101
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Transcript of Redistricting 101
![Page 1: Redistricting 101](https://reader036.fdocuments.in/reader036/viewer/2022062721/568135dc550346895d9d4edb/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Redistricting 101
Justin LevittOctober 22, 2009
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The Brennan Center and redistrictingBased at NYU, but work nationwide
Think tank, advocacy group, law firm
• Study of redistricting practices and reform initiatives
• Testimony before decisionmakers
• Consulting for advocates
• Advocacy and publication
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The Midwest Democracy NetworkAlliance of political reform advocates
5 Midwest states
• Public education
• Civic organization training
• Policy formulation
• Public advocacy and pressure for reform
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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What is “redistricting”?
• Every 10 years (at least), after the census
• Congress, state legislature, many local legislatures
• Sorts voters into groups, distributes political power
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A brief history
• Patrick Henry andJames Madison
• Elbridge Gerry
• the more things change . . .
TX-29
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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Key redistricting dates
April 1, 2010 ―
December 31, 2010―
January 10, 2011 ―
April 1, 2011 ―
End of session 2011 ―
or early 2012
Census Day
Census count to President
Apportionment to U.S. House
Redistricting data to states
Most redistricting complete
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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Blunt measure #1: voter choice
had no major-party challenger in 2008
39.5% of state legislative races
Source: Ballot Access News, Nov. 1, 2008
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Redistricting is a part of the process
Campaign Finance
Term Limits
Redistricting
Source: Michael McDonald & John Samples, The Marketplace of Democracy 14
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Blunt measure #2: shape
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Is this a good district?
You can’t know if a district is “good,” unless you know what it’s trying to achieve
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Is this a good district?Is she a good singer?
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Why does redistricting matter?
• Politicians choosing their voters• Eliminating incumbents or
challengers
• Diluting minority votes• Splitting up communities
BarackObama
’shouse
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Why does redistricting matter?
If you care about
representation,
and you care about
political power,
then you care about
redistricting
should
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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Redistricting institutions
AdvisoryPrimary control in the legislature
Primary control outside legislature
PoliticianBackup
State legislative districts
Congressional
districts
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Legislators usually draw their own lines
In most states, the legislature has primary control
• State legislative districts: 37 states
• Congressional districts: 38 states(and 7 states with 1 Congressional district)
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… and if that should fail
In the last cycle,
• Courts drew state legislative districts in 7 states
• Courts drew congressional districts in 9 states
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Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
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“Where” starts with federal protections
• Equal population
• Race and the Voting Rights Act
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Equal population – one person, one vote
• Congress: as equal as possible
• State legislature: ~10% spread if good reason
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Minority representation
Cracking
Packing
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The Voting Rights Act
Section 2 • Do minorities represent most of the voters in a compact area?
• Is there polarized voting?
• Is the minority population otherwise protected given the “totality of the circumstances”?
Do Not Dilute
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After federal law, add state limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
State leg.Congress
48 22
42 18
36 17
24 13
10 7
14 n/a
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
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Contiguity
• All parts of the district are adjacent to each other
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
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Political boundaries
• Follow county / city / town / ward lines
• Split as few as possible v. split each into as few pieces as possible
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
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Compactness
• Concerns the appearance of the district(or how close people live to each other)
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
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Communities of interest
• Kansas -- “Social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic interests common to the population of the area, which are probable subjects of legislation . . . should be considered. [S]ome communities of interest lend themselves more readily than others to being embodied in legislative districts. . .”
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
![Page 37: Redistricting 101](https://reader036.fdocuments.in/reader036/viewer/2022062721/568135dc550346895d9d4edb/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Partisanship and competition
Two primary models:
• Prohibition on undue favoritism
• Affirmatively encourage competition
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State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
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NestingSenateAssembly
Not nested
Nested
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Influencing the processTangible next steps
• Census
• Redistricting
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Influencing the census
• Educate your community
• Recruit census takers
• Become a census partner
• Staff a help center
• Focus on “hard to count” areas
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2000 population in hard-to-count areas
Source: Election Data Services
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Influencing redistricting (short-term)
• Educate your community(what? when? why? who? where?)
• Identify and map community boundaries
• Attend hearings
• Present alternative maps
• Don’t forget local districts
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Mapping community boundaries
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Influencing redistricting (long-term)There is hunger for change
Source: Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, Poll 9-10/09
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Influencing redistricting (long-term)
1. Meaningful
independence
2. Meaningful
diversity
3. Meaningful
guidance
4. Meaningful
transparency
Principles for effective
redistricting
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Meaningful independence
• One of the players shouldn’t also be the umpire
• That means staff, too
• This is not the same as taking politics out of redistricting
• Legislature can still have a role
- Select those who draw the lines
- Review (and tweak) lines afterward
1
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Meaningful diversity
• Those who draw the lines should reflect the state
• Need sufficient size
• Need political incentive to choose diverse membership
• Needs to be expressly stated
2
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Meaningful guidance
• Criteria that reflect basic goals
• Enough flexibility to accommodate local exceptions
• Communities of interest
• Statewide majority is legislative majority
3
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Meaningful transparency
• Multiple opportunities for meaningful public input
• Data and tools to facilitate response
• Some explanation from redistricting body
4
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Training others
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
What is the process in your
state?
Where are the points of access?
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• Justin LevittBrennan Center for [email protected]
• Midwest Democracy Networkwww.midwestdemocracynetwork.org
Further information