Redistricting measures not just for Ohio

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A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday on redistricting lawsuits in Wisconsin and Maryland comes as several states already are considering changes to the criteria and processes that will be used to draw legislative districts after the 2020 Census.

In most places, the state legislature and governor are responsible for redistricting U.S. House and state legislative seats. More than a dozen states primarily use boards or commissions to redraw state legislative districts, and about a half-dozen do so for congressional districts.

Proposed redistricting measures that already have been — or are likely to be — placed on ballots this year include:

OHIO

Issue: Constitutional amendment affecting congressional redistricting, approved by 75 percent of voters on May 8.

Status quo: Congress: 11 Republicans, four Democrats, one vacancy.

Old process: State Legislature passes a redistricting plan by a majority vote, subject to a gubernatorial veto.

New process: State Legislature passes a redistricting plan by a three-fifths majority with support of at least half the members of the majority and minority parties, subject to a gubernatorial veto. If that fails, districts are drawn by a seven-member commission composed of two majority and two minority party lawmakers, the governor, auditor and secretary of state; approval requires four votes, including two each from majority and minority party commissioners. If that fails, the Legislature may pass a plan by a three-fifths vote with the support of at least one-third of the majority and minority party members, subject to a gubernatorial veto. If that fails, the Legislature may pass a plan by a majority subject to a gubernatorial veto, but it would remain in effect for only four years instead of 10.

New Criteria: Districts must protect racial minority voting rights, be compact and contiguous, and limit the number of counties and cities that are split among multiple districts.

MICHIGAN

Issue: Petition signatures submitted for a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot affecting congressional and state legislative redistricting. The state appeals court has ordered that it be certified for the ballot, but an appeal is pending with the Michigan Supreme Court.

Status quo: Congress: nine Republicans, four Democrats, one vacancy. State Senate: 27 Republicans, 10 Democrats, one vacancy. State House: 63 Republicans, 46 Democrats, one vacancy.

Current process: State Legislature passes redistricting plans by a majority vote, subject to a gubernatorial veto.

Proposed process: Districts would be drawn by a 13-member citizens’ commission, composed of four Democrats, four Republicans and five independents randomly selected by the secretary of state from among applicants. Approval of districts would require a majority vote with support of at least two Democrats, two Republicans and two independents. If that fails, each commissioner would submit a plan and rank their options by preference, with the highest-ranked plan prevailing. In case of a tie, the secretary of state would randomly select the final plan.

Proposed criteria: Districts must be compact, contiguous, limit splitting of counties and cities, “reflect the state’s diverse population and communities of interest,” not favor or disfavor incumbents, and not provide a disproportionate advantage to any political party.

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MISSOURI

Issue: Petition signatures submitted for a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot affecting state legislative redistricting.

Status quo: State Senate: 23 Republicans, nine Democrats, two vacancies. State House: 113 Republicans, 47 Democrats, three vacancies.

Current process: For the Senate, the governor appoints a 10-member bipartisan commission from nominees submitted by the state Republican and Democratic parties. For the House, the governor appoints a 16-member bipartisan commission from nominees submitted by Republican and Democratic congressional district committees. Approval of maps requires a seven-tenths majority vote. If that fails, the state Supreme Court appoints a panel of six appellate judges to draw the maps, with a majority vote of the panel required.

Proposed Process: A demographer would be selected from among applicants by agreement of the Senate majority and minority leaders or, if that fails, by random selection of the state auditor. The demographer, required to be a state resident, would submit maps for approval to the redistricting commissions, which would follow existing procedures for voting.

Proposed criteria: The demographer must take into account the rights of racial and language minorities and design districts to achieve both “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” as determined by statistical measurements using the results of previous elections. Districts also shall be contiguous and limit splits among counties and cities. Compact districts are preferred but rank last among the criteria.

Utah and Colorado are also on the list for redistricting issues this year.

By David A. Lieb

Associated Press

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