Redistricting 101

Redistricting 101 Justin Levitt

Today’s conversation • What? • When? • Who? • Where? • Why? • How?

What is “redistricting”? • Draw (and re-draw) lines that determine which voters are represented by each legislative seat • Federal • State • Local

A brief history • Districts were often made of towns or counties, or groups of towns or counties

A little more history • Districts were often made of towns or counties, or groups of towns or counties 10 people 1 state Senator 10 people 1 state Senator 10 people 1 state Senator

A little more history • But the population did not grow equally 1 state Senator 1 state Senator 100 people 1,000 people 1 state Senator 10,000 people

Constitutional mandate to redraw lines Baker v. Carr, 1962 Districts have to have roughly equal population

And so… 2000 ― 2001 ― 2010 ― 2011 ― 2020 ― 2021 ― Census Day Redistricting Census Day Redistricting Census Day Redistricting

Key redistricting dates April 1, 2010 ― January 10, 2011 ― April 1, 2011 ― End of session 2011 ― or early 2012 Census Day Apportionment to U.S. House Redistricting data to states Most redistricting complete

Who draws the lines • In most states, the legislature has primary control • State legislative districts: 37 states • Congressional districts: 37 states(and 7 states with 1 Congressional district)

Other redistricting institutions State legislative districts Congressional districts * * Primary control in the legislature Primary control outside legislature Advisory Backup Independent Elected officials

Examples of advisory/backup bodies Maine 2/3 Oregon Texas Illinois

Examples of commissions Colorado 70% Missouri Montana California 9 votes

… and if the process breaks down 2000 cycle judicial action Someone filed suit Courts drew lines themselves

… and if that should fail 2000 cycle judicial action State leg. Congress* Courts asked to step in 33 21 Court drew lines itself 11 9 * 7 states had only one congressional district in the 2000 cycle

“Where” starts with federal protections • Equal population • Race/ethnicity and the Voting Rights Act

Equal population Baker v. Carr, 1962 • Congress: as equal as possible • State legislature: up to 10% “deviation,”if for good reason

“Where” starts with federal protections • Equal population • Race/ethnicity and the Voting Rights Act

Minority representation Packing Cracking

The Voting Rights Act Section 2 • Are half of the potentialvoters in a concentrated area minorities? • Would they generally vote together? • Would the rest of the voters in the area generally choose different candidates?

“Totality of the circumstances” rough overall proportionality in the jurisdiction history of voting-related discrimination extent of racially polarized voting extent of discriminatory voting practices or procedures exclusion of minority members from candidate slating extent to which minority group members bear the effects of past discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and health, which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process extent to which minority members have been elected extent to which elected officials are unresponsive to the particularized needs of members of the minority group

Complying with the Voting Rights Act • Are half of the potentialvoters in a concentrated area minorities? • Would they generally vote together? • Would the rest of the voters in the area generally choose different candidates? • Are the minority voters otherwise protected, in the totality of the circumstances? Do Not Dilute • Draw an “opportunity district” • Equal opportunity to elect representatives of choice

Adjacent populations and the VRA Chicago suburbs Latino/Hispanic African-American

Adjacent populations and the VRA The Latino population is large and compact – but drawing a compact Latino opportunity district cuts through the African-American community Chicago suburbs Latino/Hispanic African-American

Adjacent populations and the VRA The African-American population is also large and compact – but drawing a compact opportunity district cuts through the Latino community Chicago suburbs Latino/Hispanic African-American

Adjacent populations and the VRA Creativity reveals a solution for both communities Chicago suburbs Latino/Hispanic African-American

The Voting Rights Act • Section 5 • “Preclearance” for certain jurisdictions • Is the new map intended to dilute minority votes? • Does the new map leave minority voters worse off?

Section 5 objections • Most review goes through DOJ • Data reviewed to see if minorities are worse off • But there are many thousands of submissions See something? Say something!

Race and ethnicity beyond the VRA • Voting Rights Act protects certain voters • With other groups of minorities, it is OK to consider race and ethnicity, among other factors • Race and ethnicity just can’t “predominate” without a really good reason

After federal law, add state limitations State leg. Congress 4923 41 18 36 17 22 13 1210 14 n/a • Contiguity • Political boundaries • Compactness • Communities of interest • Partisanship/competition • Nesting

Contiguity • All parts of the district are adjacent to each other Not contiguous Contiguous

Political boundaries • Follow county / city / town / ward lines • Note: may split populations in unexpected ways

Compactness • Usually concerns the appearance of the district(or how close people live to each other) Less compact More compact

Communities of interest • Definitions vary, but revolve around similar elements • Kansas: “Social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic interests common to the population of the area, which are probable subjects of legislation . . . should be considered. [S]ome communities of interest lend themselves more readily than others to being embodied in legislative districts. . .” Can and should be different in different parts of the state

Communities of interest • Social interests • Cultural interests • Racial / ethnic interests • Economic / trade interests • Geographic interests • Communication and transportation networks • Media markets • Urban and rural interests • Occupations and lifestyles

Partisanship and competition • Of these states, most prohibit undue partisan favoritism or targeting particular individuals • Some affirmatively encourage competition

Nesting SenateAssembly Not nested Nested

A quick review • State legislature Congress • Who? Legislature or commission (+ courts) • Where? Equal population Equal population Voting Rights Act Voting Rights Act Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship Nesting

Redistricting 101