Let the gerrymandering commence.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

Because state lawmakers control the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional maps in most states, that puts Republicans in a position to decide the boundaries of about 194 House districts, more than double the number they controlled last cycle. Instead of popping the champagne corks, though, some GOP leaders are warning about the perils of too much cartographical authority.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/republican-redistricting-plans-hold-risks-20101221

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When the census results come out today, Texas will probably get at least three new Congressional seats, maybe four. Texas Republicans control both houses of the state legislature and the governorship, but Texas has nothing in its constitution or statutes about congressional redistricting, which means it must comply with the Voting Rights Act's mandate to ensure minorities will have representation.

Tom DeLay engineered the last redistricting in the state. Tom has other issues he's dealing with currently (hoping his prospective roommate isn't named "Mongo").

Redistricting is inherently political, but the census is going to make it hard for Republican redistricting officials to create more GOP districts without unbalancing their incumbents' voter base. The state GOP is stressing the importance of equal population in each district, while Democratic leaders will push to make sure the new influx of hispanic voters get their own districts in the Rio Grande valley and Dallas areas.

How important do you think "minority districts" are, and do you believe the Republican Party will revive their defunct 'outreach program' to attract hispanic voters for 2012?

Comments

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Redistricting should be removed from the politicians hands and be handled entirely as part of the census.

Create a computer program that requires each district to minimize the ratio of it's perimeter to area and have equal population, no attention to any demographic factors beyond total population within the district is allowed.

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

Those programs have been created, and are already used in some states. They generally balance demographic factors (within reason) as well as making districts geographically compact.

[tridus.livejournal.com]

Yes, this. The idea that it's up to people with a direct and corrupt self-interest to decide something so fundamental is insane.

Computers can do it better and faster then politicians ever could.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

I like your technocratic proposal.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

That would deprive the ruling party (whichever it happens to be) from a convenient tool to possibly tilt the voting process in their favor. It's a tactic that the ruling ANC party has been using here for the last couple of decades. They re-allocate entire populations to other districts, or just try to change voting district boundaries so they could fit their agenda. It's most visible in the Cape Flats in the suburbs of Cape Town, but also in the Tshwane district. I'm saying that, sadly, there's no way any party would voluntarily relinquish that tool.

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

I don't think "minority districts" are inherently important, but I think districts with more or less contiguous cultures and interests are.

The Rio Grande Valley (which I've mentioned before I am from) in south Texas is by all measures one such district/region. It is geographically isolated and culturally contiguous, yet for some reason was divided into four separate districts each stretching ~300 miles to Austin. That experience is what I base my thoughts on.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

This is really something of Bush's Administration the GOP now should have kept on doing. Bush *was* reaching out to Latinos and doing a fair job of it, using Theocratic politics as the inroad there. But now the GOP is deliberately alienating the largest-growing chunk of the electorate, which means bar Juan Crow they're following self-defeating political tactics in the long term.

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I forgot to talk about that in my comment. The 2004 election was the first time in a very long time, if ever, that one of the counties in the Rio Grande Valley went Republican.

The GOP has totally ceded that political ground.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

And when the Bush Administration is smarter about something than its successors.....

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

Maybe the GOP could have Tom Tancredo come down and spread some good will. HAR HAR.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

No joke: My Admin Law exam this year was about Tom DeLay's prospective roommate (who was appealing the administrative decision to place him with such a terrible dancer).

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Didn't the Roberts court rule against the drawing of some districts in Texas a few years ago, or get close to ruling against them? I know Robert's questioning seemed to give some observers the impression he doesn't like DOJ ordering districts to be remapped to enhance minority voters.

[politikitty.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Whatever passes in Texas will need to be approved at the federal level due to violating the voting rights act.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

They ruled 7-2 in 2006 against the Democratic challenge to the last redistricting. It made it easier for the party in control to map the districts.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking the minority district portion of that law is on significantly shaky ground. I'll be genuinely surprised if it survives this round of redistricting.

Here's an interesting wrinkle - Massachusetts is dropping from 10 -> 9, and the most sensible thing to do is to remove Mike Capuano's district, which is Cambridge and Somerville - as Democratic as they come. Capuano is a frontrunner to run against Scott Brown, and has a very long political life ahead of him in this state. Unfortunately, his district qualifies under the redistricting rules, so it can't go anywhere. It would not surprise me to see Massachusetts involved in a takedown of the law.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKnmkzfOqbw&feature=player_embedded#!

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

The problem with minority majority districts is that it presumes that all minorities think/vote the same way (Democrat) and uses a trait that has nothing to do with voting as the primary means of identification of voters.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

You don't feel the GOP has alienated hispanics in any way?