[Previous title: “Tom Friedman and NY Times get the facts wrong on Prop. 11”: see update at the bottom.] Unfortunately, op-ed writer Thomas Friedman and the New York Times are following in the footsteps of the Wall Street Journal by failing to fact-check what they write on redistricting. Mr. Friedman’s endorsement of independent redistricting commissions is a… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Redistricting
Rove Op-ed on Importance of Redistricting
Last week, Karl Rove wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal on the importance of many 2010 state congressional races for redistricting and the resulting reapportionment of seats in the US House of Representatives. In many states, redistricting of congressional seats is done by the state legislatures. If Republicans are able to win… Continue Reading
Congressional Redistricting Reform Without Real Change
Representative John Tanner (D-TN) called for redistricting reform in each of the past three Congresses, but he is now scaling back his goal. Tanner’s previous bills would have created a bipartisan commission to control Congressional redistricting in each state. His new proposal merely requires state legislators to post their plans online for 10 days and… Continue Reading
Open Primaries in California: The Future of Proposition 14
In June 2010, California voters will have the chance to fundamentally alter the state’s primary election system. Currently, California operates under a modified closed primary system. Under this system, political parties nominate candidates for the November General Election through a June Primary Election. The primary is “closed†because voters may select only their own party’s candidates,… Continue Reading
Redistricting Reform in Virginia?
Former Virginia Democratic nominee for Governor, State Senator Creigh Deeds, has been very actively promoting a bill in the Virginia Senate that would reform the process for redistricting in Virginia. The official summary of his bill (SB 173) reads: Establishes a seven-member temporary commission to prepare redistricting plans in 2011 and each tenth year thereafter… Continue Reading
Rose Institute’s Florida Report Featured by DLCC, FLA Politics
The Rose Institute’s recent report on redistricting in Florida has been featured on two more major sites. First, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee highlighted the article, calling it “well worth a read” and quoting from the report’s discussion of the FairDistricts initiatives. Second, FLA Politics did a second piece on the report, calling it a… Continue Reading
New Movement for Redistricting Reform in Illinois
The Illinois League of Women Voters, in conjunction with Republican leadership in the state legislature, kicked off a new movement for redistricting reform in Illinois called the “Illinois Fair Map Amendment.” Proposed on February 18, the constitutional amendment will be simultaneously introduced as a bill in the Illinois General Assembly and as a petition for an… Continue Reading
Thousands of Applicants for California Citizens Redistricting Panel
30,275 people applied for the 14 slots on the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC).  As the Rose Institute reported earlier, the application deadline was extended from February 12th to February 16th because of the intense interest.  The Citizens Redistricting Commission is entrusted with the task of redrawing California’s Legislative Districts in 2011, and is a result of… Continue Reading
Rose’s Florida Redistricting Report Featured across Blogosphere
The Rose Institute’s recently released report on Florida’s upcoming elections and redistricting has been featured in several major blogs over the last week. FLApolitics, one of the top political blogs in Florida, wrote an article pulling numerous quotes from our series and noted that it is the “perfect fix for a political junkie.” SwingStateProject.com also… Continue Reading
Rose Fellow on CNN
Rose Institute Fellow Douglas Johnson was interviewed today about gerrymandering  for CNN’s “American Morning” show. The topic is redistricting. The piece — assuming it makes it past the editing room — will air Thursday, February 25th at 6am EST, and at various other times throughout the day. The clip should be available online after it… Continue Reading