redistricting 101
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Redistricting 101. Justin Levitt October 22, 2009. The Brennan Center and redistricting. Based at NYU, but work nationwide Think tank, advocacy group, law firm. Study of redistricting practices and reform initiatives Testimony before decisionmakers Consulting for advocates - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Redistricting 101
Justin LevittOctober 22, 2009
The Brennan Center and redistrictingBased at NYU, but work nationwide
Think tank, advocacy group, law firm
• Study of redistricting practices and reform initiatives
• Testimony before decisionmakers
• Consulting for advocates
• Advocacy and publication
The Midwest Democracy NetworkAlliance of political reform advocates
5 Midwest states
• Public education
• Civic organization training
• Policy formulation
• Public advocacy and pressure for reform
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
What is “redistricting”?
• Every 10 years (at least), after the census
• Congress, state legislature, many local legislatures
• Sorts voters into groups, distributes political power
A brief history
• Patrick Henry andJames Madison
• Elbridge Gerry
• the more things change . . .
TX-29
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
Key redistricting dates
April 1, 2010 ―
December 31, 2010―
January 10, 2011 ―
April 1, 2011 ―
End of session 2011 ―
or early 2012
Census Day
Census count to President
Apportionment to U.S. House
Redistricting data to states
Most redistricting complete
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
Blunt measure #1: voter choice
had no major-party challenger in 2008
39.5% of state legislative races
Source: Ballot Access News, Nov. 1, 2008
Redistricting is a part of the process
Campaign Finance
Term Limits
Redistricting
Source: Michael McDonald & John Samples, The Marketplace of Democracy 14
Blunt measure #2: shape
Is this a good district?
You can’t know if a district is “good,” unless you know what it’s trying to achieve
Is this a good district?Is she a good singer?
Why does redistricting matter?
• Politicians choosing their voters• Eliminating incumbents or
challengers
• Diluting minority votes• Splitting up communities
BarackObama
’shouse
Why does redistricting matter?
If you care about
representation,
and you care about
political power,
then you care about
redistricting
should
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
Redistricting institutions
AdvisoryPrimary control in the legislature
Primary control outside legislature
PoliticianBackup
State legislative districts
Congressional
districts
Legislators usually draw their own lines
In most states, the legislature has primary control
• State legislative districts: 37 states
• Congressional districts: 38 states(and 7 states with 1 Congressional district)
… and if that should fail
In the last cycle,
• Courts drew state legislative districts in 7 states
• Courts drew congressional districts in 9 states
Today’s conversation
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
“Where” starts with federal protections
• Equal population
• Race and the Voting Rights Act
Equal population – one person, one vote
• Congress: as equal as possible
• State legislature: ~10% spread if good reason
Minority representation
Cracking
Packing
The Voting Rights Act
Section 2 • Do minorities represent most of the voters in a compact area?
• Is there polarized voting?
• Is the minority population otherwise protected given the “totality of the circumstances”?
Do Not Dilute
After federal law, add state limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
State leg.Congress
48 22
42 18
36 17
24 13
10 7
14 n/a
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
Contiguity
• All parts of the district are adjacent to each other
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
Political boundaries
• Follow county / city / town / ward lines
• Split as few as possible v. split each into as few pieces as possible
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
Compactness
• Concerns the appearance of the district(or how close people live to each other)
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
Communities of interest
• Kansas -- “Social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic interests common to the population of the area, which are probable subjects of legislation . . . should be considered. [S]ome communities of interest lend themselves more readily than others to being embodied in legislative districts. . .”
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
Partisanship and competition
Two primary models:
• Prohibition on undue favoritism
• Affirmatively encourage competition
State limitations
• Contiguity
• Political boundaries
• Compactness
• Communities of interest
• Partisanship/competition
• Nesting
NestingSenateAssembly
Not nested
Nested
Influencing the processTangible next steps
• Census
• Redistricting
Influencing the census
• Educate your community
• Recruit census takers
• Become a census partner
• Staff a help center
• Focus on “hard to count” areas
2000 population in hard-to-count areas
Source: Election Data Services
Influencing redistricting (short-term)
• Educate your community(what? when? why? who? where?)
• Identify and map community boundaries
• Attend hearings
• Present alternative maps
• Don’t forget local districts
Mapping community boundaries
Influencing redistricting (long-term)There is hunger for change
Source: Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, Poll 9-10/09
Influencing redistricting (long-term)
1. Meaningful
independence
2. Meaningful
diversity
3. Meaningful
guidance
4. Meaningful
transparency
Principles for effective
redistricting
Meaningful independence
• One of the players shouldn’t also be the umpire
• That means staff, too
• This is not the same as taking politics out of redistricting
• Legislature can still have a role
- Select those who draw the lines
- Review (and tweak) lines afterward
1
Meaningful diversity
• Those who draw the lines should reflect the state
• Need sufficient size
• Need political incentive to choose diverse membership
• Needs to be expressly stated
2
Meaningful guidance
• Criteria that reflect basic goals
• Enough flexibility to accommodate local exceptions
• Communities of interest
• Statewide majority is legislative majority
3
Meaningful transparency
• Multiple opportunities for meaningful public input
• Data and tools to facilitate response
• Some explanation from redistricting body
4
Training others
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• Who?
• Where?
• How?
What is the process in your
state?
Where are the points of access?
• Justin LevittBrennan Center for [email protected]
• Midwest Democracy Networkwww.midwestdemocracynetwork.org
Further information