In an Op-Ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Tony Quinn, an editor of the California Target Book, makes the argument that the redistricting method under Proposition 11 would do a better job ensuring that there is minority representation in the state legislature than the current method. This is in contrast to arguments previously made by groups representing minorities that have said the Proposition 11 will harm their representation in the legislature.
But history shows exactly the opposite. Minority representation has never significantly grown when legislators have drawn the district lines. Indeed, the huge increase in black and Latino legislators in the last two decades, and especially the rise in the number of Latino legislators, came about when the Legislature was not involved in reapportionment.
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