“Sophisticated
computer modeling has taken district manipulation to new extremes. To fix this,
courts might have to learn how to run the numbers themselves.
In the late spring of 2011, Dale
Schultz walked the short block in Madison from his State Senate office in the
Wisconsin Capitol to the glass-paneled building of Michael Best &
Friedrich, a law firm with deep ties to his Republican Party. First elected in
1982, Schultz placed himself within the progressive tradition that made
Wisconsin, a century ago, the birthplace of the state income tax and laws that
guarantee compensation for injured workers. In the months before his visit to
Michael Best, Schultz cast
the lone Republican vote against a bill that stripped collective-bargaining
rights from most public employees. But if Schultz had doubts about some of his
party’s priorities, he welcomed its ascendance to power. For the first time in
his career, Republicans controlled the State Senate and the State Assembly as
well as the governor’s office, giving them total sway over the redistricting
process that follows the census taken at the beginning of each decade. ‘‘The
way I saw it, reapportionment is a moment of opportunity for the ruling
party,’’ Schultz told me this summer.
Inside the law firm’s doors, Schultz took the elevator
to what party aides called the ‘‘map room.’’ They asked him to sign a
nondisclosure agreement, which he did without complaint. Schultz sat down and
was given a map with the new lines for his rural district west of Madison. He
and his wife, a former school superintendent, own a 210-acre farm in the area,
where they grow corn and beans and hunt pheasants. Schultz noticed that the
newly drawn district mostly included precincts he’d won before. ‘‘I took one
look at the map and saw that if I chose to run for re-election I could win, no
trouble,’’ Schultz remembered. ‘‘That was it.’’
Nearly
all of the 79 Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly made a similar
trip to the map room, signing the same secrecy pledge to see the new shape of
their districts. The new maps efficiently concentrated many Democratic voters
in a relatively small number of urban districts and spread out the remainder
among many districts in the rest of the state. These are the twin techniques of
gerrymandering, often called packing and cracking, which distribute voters to
benefit the party that is drawing the district lines.”
September 22nd is the deadline to comment
CRC INFOGRAPHIC: How to Submit a Proposed Constitutional Amendment Through
FLCRC.GOV
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today,August 22, 2017, the Constitution Revision
Commission (CRC) released a new
infographic showing the simple steps Floridians can take to submit a
proposed constitutional amendment through flcrc.gov.
CRC Chairman Carlos Beruff, said, “The recommended September 22nd deadline to submit a
proposed constitutional amendment to the CRC is a month away and we encourage
all interested Floridians to submit their proposals as soon as possible. The
submission tool on flcrc.gov offers a simple, streamlined process to create and
share proposed constitutional amendments with the CRC. Just follow the steps in
our new infographic
and make sure your voice is heard during this historic process!”
The CRC is considering Friday,
September 22 as the filing deadline for public proposals. The recommended
deadline is subject to approval by a vote of the full commission. The next full
commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19. For more information
on upcoming CRC meetings, visit flcrc.gov/Meetings.
No comments:
Post a Comment