The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which had been developing protocols for use in case of a redistricting court battle, recently decided to stop doing so according to the Associated Press. During the last round of redistricting in the state, the legislature asked the court to get involved in breaking a legislative deadlock, but it declined to do… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Redistricting
Massachusetts Newspaper Calls for Redistricting Reform in the State
The Enterprise newspaper of Brockton, Massachusetts recently released an editorial calling for redistricting reform in the Bay state. The paper looks towards the success of Proposition 11 in California, suggesting that the importance of its victory was lost in the controversy over Proposition 8. The article analyzes California’s redistricting methods over the years, until providing… Continue Reading
Proposition 11 and Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz Sentinel recently had an interesting article looking at the results of the California propositions, and in particular Proposition 11. The article looks at how the vote turned out in the county and compares it with the perceived prevailing political sentiments in the area. While many would expect Santa Cruz County to support… Continue Reading
Doug Johnson on Top-Two Primaries
Doug Johnson was recently quoted in an article appearing on PolitickerCA.com. The article mentions that former state Sen. Steve Peace (D-San Diego), is pushing a ballot initiative that would change California’s primary election process from partisan to a top two advanced system. Johnson weighs in on the legality of the proposal: “The top-two was held… Continue Reading
St. Sen. 19: Strickland leads by 2,141
California’s State Senate district 19 is another example of County elections officials posting more up to date results than are available from the Secretary of State. The district is comprised of territory in Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County. Democratic candidate Hannah Beth Jackson led Tony Strickland in the early counts, but… Continue Reading
Blank Ballots analysis
A number of our earlier posts have noted the high number of ballots cast that are blank on the question of Proposition 11. Here are comparison numbers of blank ballots by contest, based on the Secretary of State’s vote report for 10:22am on November 14th: Blank Presidential ballots: 1.4% Proposition 8 (gay marriage): 2.1% Proposition… Continue Reading
Call it: Prop 11 passes
First, the Wednesday 1pm update numbers: 14,755 new ballots counted from Kings, Merced, and San Louis Obispo Counties. The number blank on Prop 11 remains fairly constant, at 12.6% in this batch. Of those with votes recorded on Prop 11, 50.1 percent were yes, 49.9 percent no. More significantly, the Secretary of State also issued… Continue Reading
Doug Johnson on Prop 11 Impact
Doug Johnson discusses the impact of Prop 11 in Ryan Orr’s article in the Victorville Daily Press. Johnson hypothesizes that congressional districts could be added to the redistricting committee’s power, and that Democrats may have to rethink general strategies. “If the margin holds up, then they will lose control of their own district,†said Doug… Continue Reading
Monday evening brings a significant boost for Prop 11
Good news for election watchers: Trinity County finally reported its left-to-count ballots figure! All 58 counties have now reported their numbers, though they continue to revise them. The number of uncounted ballots statewide just dropped from 2.7 to 2.1 million. More significantly, the 7:05 pm Monday update was only the 2nd update since Wednesday to… Continue Reading
Proposition 11 Backers Claim Victory
The Governor is among the first to declare Prop 11 as a win: “This is really the first time that an initiative like this has won in America — this is why this is historic — the first time where really citizens independently of the Legislature “… will draw the district lines in the future”… Continue Reading