The Los Angeles Times editorial page is happy California is finally getting some love due to our earlier primary. Add their editorial to the wave of press on the subject (and read Dr. Pitney’s “Attention Must Be Paid” post). Although the change in date was “all good,” the Times says: We were hoping for still… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Redistricting
Electoral Vote Allocation & Redistricting
Matt Johnston’s reaction to Sam Hirsch’s recent Michigan Law Review piece arguing against the proposal to award electoral college votes from California by Congressional district is worth reading: If the California plan were couple with redistricting reform, in which districts are drawn to not only be geographically compact but to also be competitive to the… Continue Reading
Improving the Rules of the Game
Could you help Chris Swain make the Redistricting Game even better than it already is? Continue Reading
Proposition 93 & Redistricting Chatter
The Armed Liberal of the Winds of Change blog is against Prop. 93: I’ve believed for some time that reform of redistricting in California is hostage to entrenched political actors, who will have to be blasted out of their gerrymandered districts with a firehose. A reasonable redistricting proposal was defeated two years ago, in no… Continue Reading
Redistricting: Everyone’s got an Opinion
However, many armchair linedrawers don’t realize the restrictions the real linedrawers are under from a) the real world of politics and b) the courts. In any event, the Listmeister’s List Dump blog has an “Objective Redistricting” plan; see also Andrew Gelman’s post on the Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science blog: P.S. Ted Dunning… Continue Reading
We the Purple and Redistricting
Marcia Ford’s “We the Purple” blog, spreading the independent voter word, says: Independents find this abuse of political power to be especially heinous. However, most Americans consider redistricting—drawing the lines of congressional districts—to be synonymous with “drowsy somnolence.” *** Enter Manifold System’s Dimitri Rotow, who created several Google Earth files showing some of the worst… Continue Reading
Young Republican: Redistricting NOT the answer
Harsh words from the Young Republican Federation of Sacramento’s blog: Many of the activists seem to believe that with enough money, precinct walks, phone banks, redistricting, etc., the Republicans can become the majority party in California. In the late 70’s and into the 80’s and 90’s, Ford and GM discovered that advertising will not compensate… Continue Reading
Another Redistricting/93 Editorial
Visalia-Times Delta editorial: Proposition 93 is also the classic bait-and-switch. It gained petition signatures and lawmaker support to be placed on the ballot because it was combined with promises of redistricting reform.Redistricting reform never happened, but Proposition 93 is on the ballot anyway. And so it goes. *** The problem is, lawmakers are in charge… Continue Reading
Redistricting Relates to… Healthcare Reform?
Boi from Troy says: Basically, the bill was killed by far-right Republicans who thought the bill was too expensive and expansive, and far-left Democrats who didn’t think it went far enough. Without redistricting reform, California will continue to elect candidates who represent the extremes of their parties, at the expense of moderate, centrist compromises like… Continue Reading
MALDEF, California, and Redistricting
As this post on the now 40-year-old Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) says: MALDEF was also key in legal actions preventing the dilution of potential Latino influence in the redistricting process. See our archives for more. Continue Reading