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2008
Gerrymandering The Vote: How A “Dirty
Dozen” States Suppress As Many As 9 Million Voters
Democratic Leadership Council
June 2008
Editorial: Perata's Power Play
San Francisco Chronicle
June 30, 2008
Democrats Fear Redistricting Measure Would
Curb Their Power In State
San Francisco Chronicle
June 27, 2008
Election-Map Initiative Helps Voters, State
Progress
Sacramento Bee
June 27, 2008
Politics And California Redistricting
CaliforniaProgressReport.com
June 27, 2008
Millions On Line In Ballot Drives
Sacramento Bee
June 24, 2008
Democratic Leaders Accused Of Pressuring
Supporters Of Redistricting Measure
Contra Costa Times Sacramento Bureau
June 21, 2008
California Is Branded Among A 'Dirty
Dozen' On Gerrymandering
Los Angeles Times
June 19, 2008
Redistricting In California: Control or
Democracy?
CaliorniaProgressReport.com
June 19, 2008
Changing Method Of Redistricting Makes
Ballot
San Francisco Chronicle
June 18, 2008
Government Reformer Down On Redistricting
Initiative
PolitickerCA.com
June 18, 2008
Redistricting Initiative Makes California
Ballot
San Jose Mercury News
June 17, 2008
Democratic Party Takes Stands On Ballot
Measures
CaliforninaMajorityReport.com
June 17, 2008
Cavala: Republicans Kill Reform Bill That
Hurts GOP Chances While Democrats Support 'Reform' That Hurts Their Chances
CaliforniaProgressReport.com
June 9, 2008
Speaking With The New Speaker
Los Angeles Times
June 2, 2008
Two Plans Created To Reform Districts
Modesto Bee
May 19, 2008
New Speaker Should Focus On Public
Interest
Los Angeles Daily News
May 13, 2008
Why Schwarzenegger's Redistricting Plan
Won't Work
California Majority Report.com
May 13, 2008
Tony Quinn: Redistricting Reform OK, But
It's Only A Start
Sacramento Bee
May 11, 2008
Governor May Face Donor Fatigue
Contra Costa Times
May 11, 2008
California Redistricting Plan Faces Hurdles
Capitol Weekly
May 7, 2008
Dan Walters: Competing Proposals For Remap
Sacramento Bee
May 7, 2008
Initiative On Redistricting Closer To
Ballot
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Nunez Pushes Ethics Plan As Rival Petitions
Are Filed
Sacramento Bee
May 7, 2008
To Get Leadership Reform, We First Need
Redistricting
Los Angeles Daily News
May 1, 2008
Good Intentions Could Harm Redistricting
Ballot Measure
Los Angeles Times
April 28, 2008
Redistricting On Track To Qualify,
Consultant Says
New America Foundation.com
April 23, 2008
Why Are GOP Contributors Putting Big Money
Into Redistricting Reform?
California Progress Report.com
April 19, 2008
Gov's
Giving To Remap Measure Tops $1 million
Sacramento Bee Capital Alert
April 21, 2008
‘Due
Process’ Democrats Have Their Heads Buried in the California Sand
California Progress Report.com
April 20, 2008
Opinion: Seeing The Light
Los Angeles Daily News
April 19, 2008
California
Voters FIRST Presents A Balanced And Bipartisan Effort For Redistricting
Reform
California Progress Report.com
April 17, 2008
Schwarzenegger's
Redistricting Plan Comes Under Fire
Contra Costa Times
April 17, 2008
Group Says Plan Will Put A Stop To
Gerrymandering
The Simi Valley Acron
April 4, 2008
The Need For Redistricting Reform From
This California Democrat’s Perspective
California Progress Report.com
April 4, 2008
Labor Says No To
Schwarzenegger/Republican/Common Cause Redistricting Measure
The California Majority Report.com
April 02, 2008
Revenge In Attack On Legislative
Redistricting?
California Progress Report.com
March 31, 2008
Weintraub: Governor Gets Another Shot At
Redistricting Reform
Sacramento Bee
March 30, 2008
Editorial: Can't Legislature Do Better Than
Bills On Dogs, Donkeys?
The Fresno Bee
March 30, 2008
Walters: Voters Irate At Budget Posturing
Sacramento Bee
March 28, 2008
New Foundation To Campaign For More Efficient
California Government
Sacramento Bee
March 27, 2008
Editorial: California Voters Should Support
Redistricting Ballot Measure
Fresno Bee
March 24, 2008
Editorial: Redraw the Map
Los Angeles Daily News
March 22, 2008
Walters: Court Ruling Offers Hope to
Dysfunctional California Politics
Sacramento Bee
March 19, 2008
Supreme Court to Hear Major Redistricting
Case
The Thicket at State Legislatures (ncsl.com)
March 18, 2008
Editorial: Let Citizens Redraw the Map
The Torrance Daily Breeze
March 17, 2008
Walters: Redistrict Reformers Miss Mark
Sacramento Bee
March 10, 2008
Let Citizens
Redraw Map
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
March 9, 2008
Governor Proposes Redistricting Ballot
Measure
North County Times
March 8, 2008
Redistricting Initiative Has Strong
Republican Backing
San Jose Mercury News
March 6, 2008
Governor Gathers Signatures to Qualify
Redistricting Measure
San Jose Mercury News
March 4, 2008
Manipulative Lawmakers Playing To The Crowd
Fresno Bee
February 14, 2008
State Voters Need To Do What Lawmakers
Won't
Los Angeles Daily News
February 14, 2008
Editorial: What We Need In Sacramento,
Redistricting, Not Retaliation
San Jose Mercury News
February 14, 2008
Redistricting Reform, Not Longer Terms, Is
The Answer
California Republic.org
February 12, 2008
The Buzz: A Hardball Tactic Could Ricochet
Sacramento Bee
February 11, 2008
Wake Up, Sacramento Media! Wake Up! Wake
Up! Wake Up!
San Diego Union Tribune
February 8, 2008
Editorial: Passive Aggressive Lawmakers
Just Play to the Crowd
Fresno Bee
February 8, 2008
Nunez Takes Blame For Prop. 93 Loss
Los Angeles Daily News
February 7, 2008
Weingand: Voters Got A Whiff and Said 'No'
Sacramento Bee
February 7, 2008
Lawmakers Believe In Term Limits But
Oppose The Measure
North County Times
February 4, 2008
Good For Us
Los Angeles Times
February 4, 2008
Commentary: A Conversation with Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Sacramento Bee
January 20, 2008
Walters: Two Party Structure Under Fire
Sacramento Bee
January 18, 2008
Walters: Governor's Brownian Flip-Flops
Sacramento Bee
January 16, 2008
Editorial: Corruption of a Good Idea
San Francisco Chronicle
January 15, 2008
Governor Supports Term Limit Measure
Sacramento Bee
January 15, 2008
A Deceptive Prop. 93
San Francisco Chronicle
January 10, 2008
Use Prop. 93 To Say 'No"
dailybreeze.com
January 3, 2008
more
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California Voters FIRST Presents A Balanced And
Bipartisan Effort For Redistricting Reform
By Janis R. Hirohama
President of the League of Women Voters of California
California Progress Report.com
April 17, 2008
Speaking for the proponents and strong allies of the California
Voters FIRST initiative, I found it perplexing to learn of Speaker Núñez’s
apparent opposition to our well-balanced and bipartisan effort to
secure a fair redistricting process for California. A diverse group
of organizations has been working since 2005 to eliminate the
current conflict of interest in the redistricting process and have
attempted to do so in cooperation with the Legislature. For the past
three years, the Legislature has promised to put a redistricting
reform measure on the ballot – and the Speaker himself has been
widely quoted as supporting redistricting reform. But at the end of
each legislative year, no progress has been made. After three years,
it’s clear that real reform is going to require an independent
initiative.
This is the environment that prompted us to move forward with our
California Voters FIRST initiative. We will continue to qualify our
measure for the November 2008 ballot and will conduct an aggressive
campaign to see it enacted by voters. We will not be deterred in our
efforts to give communities the voice they deserve and end the
status quo that brings nothing but partisanship and gridlock to
Sacramento.
It is ironic to hear of politicians of both parties claiming that
our measure is a “power grab” by the other party. For voters,
these baseless claims may be strong evidence that in fact, this IS a
power grab, but not the kind the politicians claim. It is a
political power grab by voters and concerned Californians from every
corner of the state and every political persuasion—and it deserves
their support.
The idea of somehow combining an as yet unseen redistricting
proposal with a term limit reform proposal appears to be nothing
more than an attempt to derail our efforts to enact a fair and
nonpartisan redistricting plan. If the Speaker’s support of fair
redistricting were an honest effort, we believe he would endorse our
initiative and pursue a separate term limit measure.
We have the unique opportunity to provide Californians with a
positive, voter-centered alternative that will result in much-needed
change in all aspects of the redistricting process. California
Voters FIRST protects and enhances the Voting Rights Act as a
guiding principle. Openness and transparency are built into every
aspect of the process to prevent the recurrence of the most
insidious types of gerrymandering that all too often occur behind
closed doors.
The California Voters FIRST redistricting measure empowers all
voters in the state of California by means of the following
features:
Enhanced Voting Rights Act Protections. California Voters FIRST
significantly strengthens the protections embodied in the Voting
Rights Act, by expressly prioritizing it high in the list of mapping
criteria, and repeatedly requiring its consideration when applying
other criteria. Currently, the California Constitution does not even
reference the Voting Rights Act in its recitation of redistricting
criteria. (See Cal. Const. Art XXI, Sec. 1).
All Relevant Data Permitted for Voting Rights Act Compliance. The
primacy of the United States Constitution and the federal Voting
Rights Act in the Initiative’s list of redistricting criteria
guarantees that information required for compliance with the Voting
Rights Act must be considered.
Respect for Communities, Cities and Counties. California Voters
FIRST elevates consideration of community of interest concerns,
testimony, and information, by requiring the Commission to respect
the “geographic integrity of any city, county, city and county,
neighborhood, or community of interest.” Currently, “respect for
communities of interest” is not listed as a redistricting
criterion in the California Constitution.
Nesting Criteria. California Voters FIRST requires the nesting of
two assembly districts within one senate district. This can reduce
voter confusion and political gerrymandering. California Voters
FIRST requires nesting but only if the Voting Rights Act is
satisfied.
Creation of a Qualified, Diverse Commission. California Voters
FIRST creates a selection process for the 14 Commissioners designed
to ensure that applicants are chosen who represent the geographic,
racial, and gender diversity of California, and who possess relevant
analytical skills and the ability to be impartial. We envision that
demographers, city planners, lawyers, civil rights leaders,
academics and people who are civically active would apply and be
considered. The 14 Commissioners would include 5 people from the
largest party, 5 from the second largest, and 4 others unaffiliated
with the two largest parties.
Commission Selection. The selection process has three stages to
ensure checks and balances: All California voters who meet basic
requirements and have no conflicts of interest may apply. STEP 1:
The State Auditor narrows the applicant pool to 60 people based on
their qualifications and diversity. STEP 2: The Legislative leaders
may strike a limited number of names from that list. STEP 3: The
Commissioners are selected — 8 randomly and 6 chosen — to ensure
a balance of skills and diversity.
Open and Public Process. California Voters FIRST makes
proceedings and deliberations open, transparent, and accessible to
all members of the public, including civil rights organizations. In
the past, legislators have hidden their conversations behind claims
of legislative privilege to prevent discovery of illegal or
otherwise racially discriminatory intent in crafting a plan.
California Voters FIRST puts everyone on an equal footing with
legislators and prohibits ex parte communications with Commissioners
by legislators. Additionally all maps and testimony must be posted
on the Internet for the public to review.
New Congressional Standards. California Voters FIRST creates new
rules for drawing the Congressional districts that the State
Legislature must follow. The Legislature must: 1) abide by the same
open hearing rules that the Commission must follow, which are
stricter than what currently applies; 2) follow the same ranked list
of mapping criteria that the Commission must follow, which
prioritizes the Voting Rights Act; and 3) coordinate with the
Citizens Redistricting Commission to hold concurrent hearings,
provide access to redistricting data and software, and otherwise
ensure full public participation in the redistricting process. This
language was specifically included in California Voters FIRST to
address concerns that multiple hearings would be burdensome to
regular folks wishing to participate. In 2001, separate hearings
were held by the Assembly and Senate, creating challenges for
community members to testify.
The California Voters FIRST redistricting measure is a fair,
bipartisan effort and we urge Californians to support it.
Janis R. Hirohama is President of the League of Women Voters of
California. An attorney, she is a graduate of the New York
University School of Law and previously served as First Vice
President of the League of Women Voters of the United States.
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