For nearly a year, the case Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has been gyrating its way through the intricate legal processes of the United States Supreme Court. While a growing number of political insiders are becoming aware of this case, it is shocking to me how many well-informed California politicos are unaware that there is a strong possibility–I would actually say a strong likelihood–that the highest court in the land will strike down a ballot measure, Prop. 106, passed by Arizona voters back in November of 2000, which created an independent state commission to draw that state’s congressional districts. Sound an awful lot like California’s Prop. 20 passed in 2010? It sure does.
Back in January, I penned a column where I got a bit into the weeds on exactly the issue before the court, which boils down to a section of the elections clause of Article One of the U.S. Constitution. The beginning of section 4 states, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.”
Arizona legislators have sued, asserting that the Constitution places redistricting squarely in the hands of “the Legislature thereof,” not in the hands of any others, including redistricting commissions.
If the SCOTUS does throw out these ballot measures, at least in the case of California, there would be plenty of time for the state legislature to pass a new bill redrawing California’s 53 congressional seats in advance of the 2016 elections.
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