Sponsors of the initiative to modify California’s legislative term limit laws may be wondering what they did to annoy California’s county registrars. Despite filing their petitions with the counties in April, the registrars were unable to complete the signature verification process in time for the measure to qualify for the November 2010 election. Meanwhile elections… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Redistricting
Breaking News: initiative to abolish CA Redistricting Commission qualifies for November
The Institute will have more to say on this in coming days, but at 8pm on the last possible day, with barely 1,330 signatures to spare, the Pelosi/Berman initiative to abolish California’s not-yet-formed Citizens Redistricting Commission qualified for the November 2010 ballot. (Hat tip to Rose Board Member and co-editor of the California Target Report… Continue Reading
FairDistricts Conflict Escalates in Florida
In Florida, the question of how best to protect minority interests in redistricting recently escalated into a heated statewide debate over redistricting. At the forefront is outspoken Democratic Representative Corrine Brown, who has filed a lawsuit to take Amendment 6 (the FairDistricts Florida ballot initiative that would reform the criteria for drawing congressional  districts) off… Continue Reading
CA Narrows Pool of Redistricting Commission Applicants
Earlier this week, California’s Applicant Review Panel (ARP) narrowed the number of Citizens Redistricting Commission applicants down to 622. The pool started with 24,932 Californians completing the Stage 1 application. Of those, 4,564 completed the more extensive Stage 2 application. Now the ARP will gradually reduce the number of applicants to 60. Asian-Americans, residents of… Continue Reading
Redistricting Amendment Lawsuits Filed in Florida
Two of Florida’s Members of Congress filed a lawsuit to take redistricting reform off the state’s November 2010 ballot. Representatives Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Miami) oppose Amendment 6 to the Florida Constitution, which, combined with the preceding Amendment 5, is known as the FairDistricts proposal. Diaz-Balart asserts that he and Representative Brown are filing the lawsuit to… Continue Reading
Narrowing the CA Redistricting Commission applicant pool
California’s Applicant Review Panel is meeting today to review the 4,546 completed applications for the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The agenda suggests the pool may be narrowed down to about 500 today. The agenda is available on the “We Draw the Line” website. A list of the final applicants is also available at that link. Various… Continue Reading
Rose Fellow comments on redistricting commission regulations
Today was the deadline for members of the public to comment on the California State Auditor’s office recently proposed regulations governing how the initial eight members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission would select the additional six members of the Commission. The Auditor’s proposed regulations and supporting documents are available from the State Auditor’s website. Rose… Continue Reading
The Weakness of California’s Congressional Redistricting Criteria
In 2008, California voters adopted Proposition 11, a measure that stripped the state legislature of its power to draw its own districts and transferred that power to an independent redistricting commission. Proposition 11 left in place the legislature’s power to draw the state’s congressional districts, but established new redistricting criteria for the legislature to follow… Continue Reading
CA Open Primary initiative leads by two-to-one margin
A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows likely voters support California’s June 2010 open primary proposal by a two-to-one margin. Sixty percent of likely voters support the measure, compared to 27 percent who oppose it and 13 percent who are undecided. Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters all support Proposition 14… Continue Reading
CA Congressional redistricting reform measure qualifies for November ballot
Breaking news from the California Secretary of State’s office: the proposed initiative that would give the Citizens Redistricting Commission control of California’s Congressional redistricting has qualified for the November 2010 ballot. The “Voters First for Congress” proposal, sponsored by Charles Munger, Jr., qualified with 842,260 “valid or projected valid” signatures. The measure needed at least 694,354… Continue Reading