Tag: redistricting

Moses Sanchez Announces Campaign for Phoenix City Council to Replace Term Limited Sal DiCiccio

Rachel Alexander

With popular conservative Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio term limited, local activist and professor Moses Sanchez, a Republican, announced he is running for the District 6 slot based in Ahwatukee. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Phoenix in 2018, a difficult race for Republicans since Phoenix has more Democrats, but District 6 leans Republican. 

“I’m proud to call Ahwatukee home,” he said in a statement on August 11. “I’ve raised my family in Phoenix, served on our local school board, run for Mayor, and worked to grow a small business. I’m running for Phoenix City Council to provide the same opportunities this city has given me and stand up for the most overlooked community in Phoenix.”

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Arizona Legislature Overrides Ducey’s Veto

Rachel Alexander
Doug Ducey

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 25-5 Thursday to override Governor Doug Ducey’s veto of a bill that made technical corrections to previously enacted laws. Ducey vetoed SB1635 along with 21 other bills a month ago, following through on a threat he’d made in May over the legislature’s failing to send him a budget. It was the first time in 40 years, the Arizona Senate has overruled the governor.

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Redistricting Will Not Be Complete in Time for 2021 House of Delegates Elections

Eric Burk

Redistricting for Virginia’s legislative districts will not be complete in time for the 2021 House of Delegates elections, according to a draft timeline presented at a Virginia Redistricting Commission (VRC) meeting Tuesday. Census data is not expected until mid-August, which starts a 45-day timeline for the commission to send completed House and Senate maps to the General Assembly. As a result, Virginia may have House of Delegates races three years in a row: 2021, 2022 based on new districts, and the regularly scheduled 2023 election.

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Retired Judges Select Eight Citizens to Serve on Virginia Redistricting Commission

Jacob Taylor

A selection committee of five retired judges on Wednesday chose the eight citizens who will serve on the Virginia Redistricting Commission, completing the membership determination process for the newly-implemented body tasked with proposing plans for redrawing the Commonwealth’s 111 congressional and legislative districts.

The judges met for several hours on Wednesday morning and had to come up with the eight names from a pool of 62 finalists.

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Legislative Leaders Pick Citizen Finalists for Virginia Redistricting Commission

Jacob Taylor

The four legislative leaders of the House of Delegates and state Senate picked 62 citizen finalists last Friday to be considered for eight available spots on Virginia’s new redistricting commission.

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax), House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City) were responsible for making lists of 16 citizens out of more than 1,200 applicants. 

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In Final Days as Attorney General, DeWine Files Motion to Dismiss Ohio Redistricting Lawsuit

Andrew Shirley

Gov.-elect Mike DeWine (R-OH) appears to be making every last day of his tenure as Attorney General count. This week, DeWine filed a motion to have an upcoming gerrymandering lawsuit tossed out. The suit would mandate the redrawing of all of Ohio’s 16 congressional districts before the 2020 election. In May of 2018, a group of plaintiffs, including one Democratic constituent from all 16 districts, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the current congressional districts were: an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that violates the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I of the United States Constitution….the most egregious gerrymanders in recent history. The primary force behind the legal challenge is the Ohio League of Women Voters. Should the suit be successful, the state would be required to redraw the congressional districts before the 2020 election with new procedures that would be a radical departure from the current standard. DeWine seeks to have the suit thrown out on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot prove harm and that there is no legal standing for the case. In May, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to reform the current system of redistricting. Traditionally, following each census, the party in power would control the redistricting process. Issue 1 will…

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Ten Laws That Spell Major Changes for Ohio in 2019

Andrew Shirley

In terms of legislation, 2018 may be considered one of Ohio’s most impactful years in recent history. From the approval of the first medicinal marijuana dispensary to new abortion limitations, 2019 will see a dramatic change for many Ohioans. Compiled below are ten of the most significant changes coming to the Buckeye State. Expanded Gun Ownership Rights – House Bill 228 Through an override of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s veto, the Ohio congress passed HB 228, expanding a citizen’s right to self-defense. The bill was originally intended to be a ‘stand your ground’ law but shifted following the significant public controversy. As passed,  the law shifts the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the prosecution. Before passage, Ohio was the only state in America in which a defender had to prove that they were acting in self-defense. Dismemberment Abortion Ban – Senate Bill 145 While Governor Kasich’s received widespread conservative criticism for his veto of the “Heartbeat Abortion Bill,” the Governor did sign one of the most extensive abortion limits in the country. SB 145, signed into law in late December, has banned one of the most commonly used second-trimester abortion procedures currently practiced nationwide. Governor Kasich has signed more than 20 abortion limitations during…

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Supreme Court Lets Contested District Maps In Texas, NC Remain In Effect

Admin
SCOTUS, North Carolina, Texas

by Kevin Daley   The U.S. Supreme Court Monday cleared the way for Texas and North Carolina to use a set of contested legislative district lines, declining to side with plaintiffs who alleged the maps were gerrymandered for partisan or racial advantage. The decisions come one week after the high court sidestepped sweeping rulings in landmark challenges to political gerrymanders. The North Carolina case, Rucho v. Common Cause, involved a challenge to the state’s congressional district map. The current lines afford Republicans a 10-3 advantage in North Carolina’s congressional delegation, although the state has adopted a moderate political character in recent election cycles. As in other gerrymandering cases, mapmakers brazenly acknowledged the partisan interests driving the process. “I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats,” said North Carolina Republican Rep. David Lewis, who chairs the state legislature’s redistricting committee. “So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country.” A three-judge district court said the map was unconstitutional and ordered the state to produce new maps in time for the 2018 elections, but the justices placed that order on hold in January. Monday’s order lifted the three-judge panel’s ruling, and required the lower court to…

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