Due to the tendency of our General Assembly to ignore Court injunctions to engage in Congressional redistricting, even when the legislature is granted broad power to do so, the Court is truly taking over the redistricting process.
In an order entered today, (based on a conference call with counsel yesterday) the Court has ordered the following:
So much for giving the G.A. an additional chance…
AND
…..
Time to submit your plans! Because no one in the legislature decided to pass a plan out of Committee, and no Republican decided to even submit a plan, all parties to the case enter this stage with equal authority.
But do you notice the fun part? We (the public) have been invited to participate!!! Feel free to submit your plan (with legal and factual explanations) for consideration to the Court. If you wrote it on the back of a napkin, please keep it to yourself. You have about two weeks to get your act together and submit a plan for the Special Master’s consideration. If I’m feeling particularly magnanimous (and it appears to be ethically allowed) I’ll publish some directions on how to electronically file as a member of the public. Perhaps our Congressional districts are best drawn by an overachieving high school student, or a politically inactive stay at home mom, or some lobbyist in Great Falls…
Perhaps now Republican leaders in the G.A. will start to take this process a little more seriously. If they don’t like the current system perhaps they could have done a little more from October 7, 2014 to the present.
For your edification here is the entire order:
8 comments
I think that since the general public selects our nominees, it’s only fair that they create the districts as well. Maybe we could have some kind of election where the voters could choose the plan they like best.
I seriously doubt that the judge is expecting 5000 Local Joe’s to submit their ideas. Most likely it will be the various civic organizations like the NAACP and others who have lawyers on staff for just such an occasion.
I agree. The submission process will be a little difficult for 5000 local Joe’s, but what about 50? Want to opine? Now is your chance.
Well one thing is for sure. That idea the GOP had about putting all the majority black cities in the 3rd should be DOA. My guess is the good ole boys in Tidewater are going to have a tougher time once this deal is done. Obama may be gone, but his voters won’t be so shy in future local races.
Virginia was forced by the DOJ to create the 3rd district as a majority black district. It wasn’t the GOP’s idea. After the last census, the number of blacks increased from 53% to 56%. This increase was approved by the DOJ.
You don’t need a lawyer. Just a GIS program a knowledge of how to google search the requisite paperwork. I use QGIS, its free and easy to use.
qgis.org
I’d submit my own plan, but I already know of several orgs planning on submitting algorithm drawn plans that are as good or better than anything that could be done by hand.
Paul this is a new one on me. Is it unusual for a court to invite non-parties to submit plans as opposed to letting non-parties file for permission to submit amicus briefs?
It is not unusual for civic orgs, professors, government commissions, etc. to submit plans by formally joining the case and submitting amici. To be open to the general public is unusual, but unlike Obama I hesitate before ever using the word unprecedented.