Tuesday, June 30, 2015

YouDrawTheLines2021


In Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court found that voters had the power to strip elected lawmakers of their authority to draw district lines.

Justice Ginsburg wrote that the Constitution’s reference to “legislature” encompassed the people’s legislative power when acting through ballot initiatives. “The animating principle of our Constitution is that the people themselves are the originating source of all the powers of government,” she wrote.

The Supreme Court decision upholding independent congressional redistricting efforts immediately touched off a push to get more nonpartisan commissions in place before the next reapportionment after the 2020 census.

Backers of taking some of the politics out of the decennial redrawing of the lines for House districts said Monday’s ruling eliminated the legal uncertainty surrounding such efforts. It could also provide momentum for state initiatives with three election cycles — 2016, 2018 and 2020 — before new districts need to be mapped out.

“I believe we have a chance to make Congress work again for the American people by creating competitive districts,” said Ellen O. Tauscher, a former centrist Democratic House member from California and former State Department official.

She is forming a new bipartisan group, “YouDrawTheLines2021,” to push commissions similar to the one adopted in her home state.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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