Redistricting
Redistricting commission plans for milestone vote between Republican, Dem proposals
Final maps are still a little ways off, but the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission will hit a major turning point at its next meeting when it will decide whether to move forward with either the Democratic or Republican proposals as its only template. At the commission’s meeting on Monday, independent Chairwoman Erika Neuberg said it […]
Redistricting panel takes steps to bolster GOP chances in latest changes
Republicans would fare well in the state’s next congressional map under a series of changes members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission proposed. At the commission’s meeting on Thursday, its second since it resumed work drawing what will become the final maps that Arizona will use for the next decade, independent Chairwoman Erika Neuberg suggested […]
As redistricting panel mulls changes to draft maps, partisan schisms appear
Proposals from the mayor of Yuma, a coalition of Latino Democrats and a person with the username mango1 took center stage as the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission returned to action and took the first steps in crafting the boundaries of what will become the final congressional and legislative districts the state will use for the […]
What was good for David Schweikert in the time of Trump might not be after redistricting
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert might end up being a case study in how escalating extreme rhetoric to avoid the wrath of former President Donald Trump and his voters turns from an advantage to a liability because of redistricting. Schweikert won his seat in Congress in the GOP wave year of 2010, knocking off incumbent Democrat […]
The redistricting conundrum: Just what is a community of interest?
Long after he’d finished his work chairing the first Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Steve Lynn crossed paths with Sandra Day O’Connor, and took the opportunity to ask the retired Supreme Court justice a nagging question he from his time drawing the state’s congressional and legislative districts: How exactly does one define the term “community of […]
Legislative leaders sound off on redistricting, competitiveness
Democratic legislative leaders presented a laundry list of grievances over Latino districts, competitiveness and a GOP lawmaker’s attempt to influence his Tucson-area legislative district, while House Speaker Rusty Bowers urged the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to put less of a premium on competitive districts, as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle got an opportunity […]
Flashpoints emerge as Arizonans lobby redistricting commission for changes
After weeks of hearings on the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s draft maps of its proposed legislative and congressional districts, members of the public have no shortage of gripes about how the lines are drawn or suggestions on how to make them better. Various hotspots have emerged as points of controversy since the AIRC began its […]
What would be a fair district map in Arizona?
While fairness is not literally one of the six Arizona redistricting criteria, it should be everyone’s goal. In fact, the original proposition that Arizonans voted for to create the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has a preamble that gives its purpose as, “To oversee the mapping of fair and competitive congressional and legislative districts.” The concept […]
Proposed congressional map could force incumbents to make tough decisions
Several members of Arizona’s congressional delegation may have big decisions to make before next year’s election based on the proposed boundaries of the state’s new political map. The draft congressional map approved last month by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission puts several incumbents into unfavorable districts. Some of those district boundaries will change by the […]
With preclearance gone, redistricting in Arizona enters a new frontier
For the first time in decades, Arizona’s map-drawers are crafting the state’s new congressional and legislative districts without a key provision of the Voting Rights Act guiding their decisions, stoking concerns about representation for Latino and Native American voters. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is the heart of the landmark 1965 law. It […]
Some lawmakers are poised to lose out in redistricting draft maps
A number of incumbent lawmakers find themselves facing suddenly unfavorable electoral prospects under the proposed legislative map drawn by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Some lawmakers who were previously in politically advantageous districts may now have to run in districts controlled by the other political party. Others remain in friendly territory from a partisan standpoint, […]
Draft maps approved: 4 competitive congressional seats, 6 legislative districts
Four of Arizona’s congressional districts would be competitive, with two as legitimate toss-up seats, under a new draft map adopted Thursday by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Republicans would have three safe seats and Democrats would have two. And the commission’s official draft legislative map would give Republicans more safe districts, but give Democrats a […]