Tag: Redistricting
Lawmakers Begin Special Session
MONTGOMERY — As the gavels sounded to bring the Alabama Legislature into special session Thursday, many lawmakers were getting a first detailed look at how their districts would be redrawn following the 2020 census.
Some are happy with the changes so far, some are not, and many are not seeking reelection to begin with. Ready or not, the new maps for State House and Senate, Congress and state school board have now been introduced to begin their journey through the legislative process. Read more.
Legislature Meets Thursday for Redistricting Special Session
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature convenes Thursday for the start of a special session to approve new voting district maps and appropriate another $80 million of federal pandemic relief funds.
Both chambers will gavel into order at 4 p.m. as called by Gov. Kay Ivey. Committee meetings will begin Friday. Read more.
Redistricting Committee Passes New Maps Along Party Lines
MONTGOMERY — The legislative committee redrawing Alabama’s congressional, state board of education and state legislative district maps approved drafts along party lines on Tuesday, two days before the full Legislature meets to consider them.
The maps continue to include a single minority-heavy congressional district and leaves majority-minority areas split into multiple Senate districts in Jefferson County.
The nearly two-hour meeting was a likely preview of the special session on reapportionment that starts Thursday, with the Republican majority largely quiet in the debate while Democrats raised questions about minority representation and the speed at which the COVID-19-altered process is happening.
Committee member Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said the process was flawed in part because committee members only saw the maps in their entirety for the first time on Monday.
“I think this is doing a disservice to the process and the people we represent,” England said.
Committee co-chair Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said he only saw whole maps Monday, too.
“That makes me feel worse,” England replied. Read more.
Community Leaders Call for ‘Fair Maps’ Ahead of Special Session on Reapportionment
Community Leaders Call for ‘Fair Maps’ Ahead of Special Session on Reapportionment
WBHM
State legislators will meet Thursday for their second special session of the year. This time they’ll vote on new district maps following the 2020 census. Read more.
Tyson Assures Ensley Residents She’s Not Trying to Get Rid of Them in Commission Redistricting
Commissioner Sheila Tyson said today she has fielded phone calls from Ensley residents who think she’s trying to cut them from the Jefferson County district she represents.
Nothing could be further from the truth, she said during a brief meeting of the commission at the Bessemer Justice Center.
“It wasn’t that if you’re underpopulated, you try to get rid of what you’ve got,” Tyson said. “It makes no sense. I just wanted to straighten that up.”
During the Oct. 5 commission committee meeting, Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson presented three plans for evenly distributing the county population between its five districts using 2020 U.S. Census numbers.
Commissioners advanced all three maps for public review. A hearing on the plans will be conducted during the Nov. 4 commission meeting. Read more.
Reapportionment Meeting, Maps Release Expected Tuesday
Alabamians should get their first looks at proposed new State House, congressional and state school board voting districts next week, two days before the Legislature begins debating and voting on them. Read more.
Reapportionment Special Session Oct. 28, Maps May Not Be Released Until Next Week
Lawmakers will be back in Montgomery starting Oct. 28 to decide new congressional, state Senate and House and state school board district boundaries in a special session.
The proposed maps, still being drafted, aren’t likely to be made public until late next week, raising some concerns about how much community reaction could be heard in a fast-paced special session. Read more.
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether “Extreme” Partisan Gerrymandering Can, or Should, be Curbed
With protestors rallying outside and a packed house inside, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments over the legality of “extreme” partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts.
The court has taken up a suit, Gill v. Whitford, that alleges partisan gerrymandering in the redrawing of legislative districts in Wisconsin. The court is mulling whether enforceable standards can be set limiting political influence over the drawing of districts. Conservatives on the court are unsure that can be done, while liberals argued that not doing it undercuts the theory of democracy.
Much of Tuesday’s arguments were aimed at Justice Anthony Kennedy, widely considered the swing vote in the case.
The Supreme Court’s decision could have ramifications for legislative districts in Alabama and 20 other states.
In Alabama, legislators drew new House and Senate districts after the 2010 Census, but a court ordered them to redraw 12 districts deemed to be the result of racial gerrymandering.
The issue is whether the redistricting packed too many minority voters in too few districts. Opponents of the plan argue that if fewer black voters – just enough to influence the election – were assigned to more districts, they would have a strong voice in the selection of more legislators.
The Legislature adopted new districting maps this spring that redraw 25 of the 35 Senate districts and 70 of the 105 House districts. Unsatisfied, the Legislative Black Caucus has challenged the plans.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the spring.
BirminghamWatch Coverage
Race and the Alabama Legislature, Volatile Mix in Redrawing Political Map
A Fix for Racial Gerrymandering? Legislators to Debate Whether New Plan Cures Voting District Problems
Legislature OKs Redistricting Plan on Last Day of the Session
National Coverage of U.S. Supreme Court Case
Kennedy’s Vote Is in Play on Voting Maps Warped by Politics (New York Times)
Kennedy is Key to Supreme Court Outcome on Partisan Maps (Associated Press)
What is Gerrymandering? A guide to Understanding the Case Before the Supreme Court (Quartz)
With Wisconsin case, Supreme Court Takes up Partisan Gerrymandering (Christian Science Monitor)
Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Gerrymandering (Wall Street Journal)
Transcript of the Arguments (Wall Street Journal)
Partisan Gerrymandering: How Much Is Too Much? (NPR)
A Fix for Racial Gerrymandering? Legislators to Debate Whether New Plan Cures Voting District Problems
Legislators on Tuesday will begin debating a committee’s plans for redrawing House and Senate districts a federal court ruled had been racially gerrymandered.
With only a handful of days left before the regular session must end, the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment last week approved a redistricting plan.
But Democratic members of the committee were not satisfied with changes made to the state’s districting maps and said they thought the committee had not changed lines enough. Read more.
