Free Republic

Unlike Teddy Roosevelt, the president he quoted at last night’s Queens redistricting hearing, Republican Councilman Dan Halloran spoke loudly and did not carry a big stick. Mr. Halloran’s bruising 2009 City Council race in northeast Queens cast a long shadow over the hearing in Long Island City- the third of its kind in front of a commission tasked with the decennial redrawing of districts to reflect demographic changes in the city- where he and allied civic groups clashed with Asian advocacy organizations about whether a neighborhood, Oakland Gardens, should be incorporated into Mr. Halloran’s 19th District. The heavily Asian neighborhood,...

The 2012 election certainly didn’t end as planned for the GOP, which failed to win the presidency and lost seats in both chambers of Congress. Nonetheless, Republicans found a silver lining in the fact that they maintained control of the House, having won at least 233 seats as of Tuesday — 218 are needed for a majority. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) argued on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” that the election was a clean sweep for Democrats. He said the GOP wouldn’t have retained control of the House if it wasn’t for questionable redistricting by Republicans. The Brennan Center for Justice...

Maryland Republicans are driving efforts to overturn the state’s newly drawn congressional map in a referendum next month, but they are joined by a number of Democrats who say their own party has gone too far in crafting districts for political gain. Numerous Montgomery County Democrats are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday in Rockville during which they are expected to urge a “no” vote on ballot Question 5, which would reject the district map drawn last year by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and approved by the General Assembly. Critics have accused the map’s makers of lumping disparate communities...

Every ten years, after the U.S. Census releases its latest population reports, most of the 50 states begin the complicated process of drawing new election districts. As you might expect, partisan bickering and maneuvering inevitably distort things. So a decade ago, Arizona voters decided to end the partisanship by removing the redistricting process from the state legislature and placing it in the hands of an independent commission. Last year, the new commission, consisting of two Democrats, two Republicans, and a nonpartisan chair, got to work on its first set of maps after the 2010 census. Unfortunately, the results were...

Governor Cuomo caved. Our lawmakers lied. After more than a year of fresh air in Albany — led by a governor who passed gay marriage, reformed ethics laws and capped property taxes — the state capitol again stinks. After midnight on Thursday, and behind closed doors, the proverbial three men in a room — Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos — cut a deal carving legislative election districts that virtually assures the lawmakers who approved it will be running things for years. Instead of forming an independent panel to create districts that actually represent the...

A California Supreme Court ruling Friday significantly raised Democratic Party prospects of gaining the supermajority needed in the state Senate to pass tax or fee increases. The high court decided that Senate maps drawn recently by a 14-member citizens commission will be used for this year's legislative elections, even if a pending referendum qualifies for the ballot. The decision brought certainty for dozens of prospective Senate candidates awaiting final adoption of the maps as they begin their campaigns. And it offered the commission at least temporary validation that it performed its job as the voters intended. Political analysts of both...

California's congressional Democrats ran a secret effort this year to manipulate the work of the independent citizens panel that drew the state's new political districts, foiling the intent of reformers who sought to remove the redistricting process from the control of party bosses. Democrats met behind closed doors at the party's Washington, D.C., headquarters, hired consultants, drew their ideal districts and presented maps to the panel through proxies who never disclosed their party ties or "public interest" groups created specifically for the purpose. In many cases, the panel responded by doing just what the Democrats wanted. The New York-based nonprofit...

There have been a lot of good candidates for the "gerrymander of the decade" award this cycle. North Carolina, Illinois and Texas have all dreamed up district lines that have gone... --snip-- Republicans in Pennsylvania, however, took a state that is two or three points more Democratic than the country as a whole, and created 12 districts (out of 18) that are more Republican than the country as a whole. They did so by creating what can only be called a group of Rorschach-inkblot districts in southeastern Pennsylvania. The net result is a map that shores up their vulnerable incumbents,...

Why your vote for Congress might not matterBy James Polk, CNN updated 10:19 AM EST, Fri November 18, 2011 **SNIP** Gerrymandering is the term for the way politicians draw boundary lines for legislative districts in a way designed to keep one party or the other in power in that particular district. In the last 10 years, 78% of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives -- almost four out of every five members of Congress -- did not change party hands even once. In California, with 53 seats -- the most in the nation -- incumbents were kept so...

In a boost to Democrats’ chances of retaking the House next year, federal judges in Texas will draw a map for the state’s 2012 congressional races. A Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday declined to sign off on redistricting plan spearheaded by the state Republican Party. The D.C. court ruled that the Republican line-drawers “used an improper standard or methodology to determine which districts afford minority voters the ability to elect their preferred candidates of choice.” The decision means the issue is headed for a lengthy court battle, which, in turn, means the map won’t be ready in time for...

The Department of Justice pre-cleared North Carolina’s redrawn Congressional map today, solidifying this cycle’s most detrimental gerrymander for House Democrats. Four Democrats — Reps. Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre, Heath Shuler and Brad Miller — are in more danger of losing their seat next year under the new lines.

Howie thread for the week starting with his Sunday Herald column

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a new congressional map expected to give Democrats a better shot at winning one of state Republicans’ two congressional seats, clearing a final hurdle for Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley’s stamp of approval. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the map on Tuesday, just two days into the General Assembly’s special session, held to consider the map submitted by Mr. O'Malley. Critics said it would split districts and slight minority voters to take the Western Maryland district held since 1993 by GOPRep. Roscoe G. Bartlett. Senate lawmakers must return to Annapolis on Thursday...

For the first time in state history, an independent group of citizens has redrawn California's political districts, approving a set of maps this morning that are expected to help Democrats garner more power in the solidly blue state. The 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission approved new district boundaries for the state Assembly, Senate and Board of Equalization on a 13-1 vote, with one Republican - Michael Ward of Anaheim - opposing the lines. Another Republican member, Jodie Filkins Webber of Norco, joined Weber to vote against the Congressional boundaries. In a written statement, Weber charged that the commission broke the law...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The citizens commission established by voters to create an independent process for drawing California's legislative and congressional districts has delivered on its first set of maps, voting to adopt new boundaries that appear to increase the reach of majority Democrats. The 14-member California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted Friday on final draft versions of district maps for Congress, the state Legislature and the state Board of Equalization, which administers sales and use taxes.

Congratulations are in order to Assembly Speaker John Perez. The Redistricting Commission has now delivered the 54th seat necessary for Speaker Perez to achieve two-thirds Democratic rule in the Assembly, (an accomplishment the Democrats never achieved on their own). With a two-thirds vote, Perez and his friends can pass tax increases to their heart’s delight. They need not spend money trying to elect more Democratic members; the Redistricting Commission has done it for them. It is all a matter of having friends in high places. Their friends are not just the 14 commissioners, who feign ignorance of the partisan seats...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats hoping to regain the majority in the House in 2012 might get a strong head start in California, where voters have handed the authority for drawing political boundaries to an independent citizens' commission. Analysts studying the panel's work are predicting that three to five seats now in Republican hands will move into the Democratic camp in next year's general election. Such a swing could give Democrats an edge toward the magic number 24 -- the number of GOP-held seats they'll need to win if they are to regain the House majority. Republicans account for roughly 31 percent...

Leaders and citizens make cases before redistricting committee LYNN — Hundreds of people last night filled the Lynn City Hall auditorium in support of saving the 6th Congressional District. An array of speakers, from elected officials, community and business leaders to concerned citizens, argued before state lawmakers on the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting that the district was growing, geographically coherent, and made up of communities that have a shared history and work well together. It has been around for more than 150 years, and Democratic Congressman John Tierney said its "core" should be preserved and expanded. "The core of...

June 10, 2011, Commission Votes 14-0 to Approve 1st Draft District Maps With four 14-0 votes, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission has released its first round of draft maps for Congressional, State Assembly, State Senate and Board of Equalization districts. The Commission is now soliciting public comment on the draft districts. Testimony can be submitted online to votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov, by mail to the Citizens Redistricting Commission, 901 P Street, Suite 154-A, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by FAX at 916-651-5711. The Commission will be holding 11 public input hearings in June on the draft maps. The hearing schedule and the draft maps...

To secure Republican votes for the state budget, Democrats have enlisted business leaders, police officers and teachers. Now they're hoping for a boost from cartographers. An independent mapping panel will release its first draft of new legislative boundaries Friday, shuffling incumbents into new districts and threatening some members' best-laid political plans. Democrats hope the redistricting maps will help shake free the necessary Republican votes for a budget that relies on taxes to bridge the remaining $9.6 billion deficit. They suggest the maps could place key Republicans in more competitive districts and reduce the influence of anti-tax conservatives. At the least,...