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Home My WebLink AboutComm. 006.2 - 2021-09-08 Office of the Corporation Counsel: Drawing Redistricting Plans COMMUNICATION 6.2 Paper PLANS THAT WILL STAND UP IN COURT Notes on Peter S. DRAWING REDISTRICTING , because the drafter has wide partison The process of changing the district boundaries. The number of members per district does not change, but the Redistricting is highly discretion where the boundaries will run.Creative drafting can give one party a significant advantage in elections. Redistricting We redistrict because the population shifts.If population growth has not been uniform throughout a jurisdiction, districts tend to grow out of population balance.We want to identify districts that have grown faster or slower than average. Slower growing districts may need to grow in area.Faster growing districts may need to shrink in area. Why do we redistrict? them a minority in keepting drawing district lines so that voters who support : : drawing district boundary lines so that voters who Gerrymandering describes any technique by which a political party attempts to give itself an unfair advantage in redistricting.Packingsupport candidates of the minority party are concentrated, or packed, into as few districts as possible.Crackingcandidates of the minority party are broken up. They are spread among as many districts as possible, every district, rather than permitting them to concentrate their strength enough to elect representatives in some districts. Gerrymandering Trying to determine where political : Drawing a district that separates the incumbent from : : Drawing two or more incumbents of the minority party Pairinginto the same district. All but one of the incumbents must either retire, move to another district, or be defeated.Kidnappingthe voters who elected him.Purpose of gerrymanderingminorities are located, and drawing their districts to pack as many packed, crack them into as many districts as possible. Gerrymandering (continued) - 3 territory, must be compact, not divide communities of interest. Restrictions on who can draw plans: e.g. using a commission rather than incumbents.Restrictions on the data to be used, e.g. only census population data.Using defined procedures such as review by others, holding public hearings before adopting a plan (e.g. Hawai17).Restrictions on the way districts are drawn, e.g. contiguous Mechanisms to Control Gerrymandering 4(2) Nonresident military personnel, nonresident military - 36 § Provide districts of substantially equal population using counts from the 2020 census.Exclusion of Undocumented Persons. The census is not limited to citizens, it counts persons. Inclusion of Overseas Military PersonnelHCC dependents, nonresident students, and foreign nationals or aliens shall be excluded from the permanent, resident population base used to What helps a plan stand up in court? Includes blocks, census tracts, and 171, 89 Stat. 1023 (1975) (codified as amended at - 141(c)), permits each state to request the Census § Public Law 9413 U.S.C. Bureau to provide it with population counts tabulated in accordance with the geographic areas identified by the state and requires the Bureau to provide those counts before April 1 in the year ending in one.Statistical Geography counties. Census geography 5 Total Deviation6 Maximum council district deviation. -- 3636 §§ (a) The total deviation for the entire plan shall be less than (a) The maximum council district deviation for a proposed council referring to it as maximum deviation, total deviation, or overall deviation.HCC 10%.HCC district shall not exceed plus or minus 5.99 percent of an ideal council Measuring Population Equality - by - . Requires case incumbent representatives Federal courts use two different standards for judging redistricting plans. For congressional plans, it is strict equality.Examples: Making districts compact, respecting municipal boundaries, preserving the cores of prior districts, and avoiding contests between case attention. Standards th Legislative Plans, based on Equal Protection Clause of the 14intentional discrimination.respecting the boundaries of political subdivisions. Standards Discrimination - Make sure you do not discriminate against racial or linguistic minorities. Redistricting plans have been opposed on the ground that they discriminated against specific ethnic groups and abridged their right to vote by diluting the voting strength of their population.The test is whether your plan will have the effect of diluting minority voting strength, not whether it was enacted with an intent to discriminate. Non Shaw v. Reno. 509 U.S. 630, 647 (1993). Reapportinment You may consider race in drawing districts.Avoid drawing a racial gerrymander.Beware of bizarre shapes. Draw districts that are reasonably compact. Compactness is not just a geometrical concept; it is also a political concept. Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment How to Draw Redistricting Plans That will , Peter S. (2021) Wattson : Follow traditional districting principles, e.g. compactness, continuity, respect for political subdivisions.Do not attempt to draw a plan that favors one party over another.Do not draw districts with shapes so bizarre that they draw public ridicule.Be prepared to defend your plan.Reference Stand Up in Court. National Conference of State Legislatures Online Redistricting Seminar, Denver Colorado Additional Recommendations