Mission:To administer the fair and balanced redistricting of the Congressional and Legislative districts for the state of Arizona.
The Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) was formed by the people of Arizona when they passed Proposition 106 during the 2000 General Election. Prop 106 amended the AZ Constitution to create a five-member commission to oversee the redrawing (or redistricting) of Congressional and Legislative boundaries following the decade Census. The League was very active in the passage of Prop 106 as previous to that time the State Legislature was responsible for redrawing the lines. The League believed that practice resulted in boundaries that served the politicians instead of the people of Arizona. The five-member Redistricting Commission acts independently of the State Legislature.
The Commission members are:
Colleen Coyle Mathis, Chair (I + Pima Co.) She had been removed from office by the governor and the legislature.
On November 17th, Mathis was reinstated by the AZ Supreme Court.
Scott Day Freeman, Vice Chair (R + Maricopa Co.)
Jose M. Herrera, Vice Chair (D + Maricopa Co.)
Linda C. McNulty, Commissioner (D + Pima Co.)
Richard P. Stertz, Commissioner (R + Pima Co.)
The Commission convened in March, 2011, and picked the attorneys Joe Kanefield and Mary O'Brady from the firms Ballarad Spahr and Osborn Maledon.
At the June 29th meeting in Phoenix, the professional mapping firm: Strategic Telemetry, a D.C. based mapping firm, was selected to serve as the group's mapping consultant.
On August 15th, The first set of drafts of the maps was publicized.
On October 3rd, the Commission voted to adopt a draft congressional-district map. As a result of reapportionment, Arizona will have nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade.
The Commission hosted 26 hearings around the state so that the public could critique the panel draft congressional and legislative district maps.The hearings took place over 22 days, starting Oct. 11 in Phoenix and concluded Nov. 5 in Casa Grande.
This was the commission's second set of public hearings. In late July and early August, before drafting maps, commissioners and staff toured the state to get a broad picture of what Arizonans wanted from redistricting. Since mid-August, the commissioners have been working to draft congressional and legislative maps that reflect public sentiment but adhere to the rules set out in the state Constitution.
On October 21st, a special House-Senate committee formed by Republican legislative leaders to make recommendations on the draft maps met for the first time. The committee's meeting included testimony from commission supporters who urged lawmakers to keep their hands off the process, from Republican Party activists who called the commission's process tainted, and from local officials who said their communities' interests had been sacrificed.
On October 27th, Gov.Jan Brewer sent a letter to all five commissioners saying there have been "allegations that you have committed subsantial neglect of duty and gross misconduct in office." The AZ Constitution allows her to remove any commission member, with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, if she concludes the allegations are true.
On November 1, the governor, who was out of town, had the Secretary of State call a special session of legislature and state senators voted to remove the chairperson Colleen Mathis as being guilty of violating the Open Meeting Law. Senate Minority Leader David Schapira said there is no evidence of misconduct.
On November 4th, attorneys for the Commission asked the state Supreme Court for a stay on the removal, which has left the five-member panel in a 2-2 gridlock. The high court gave Brewer and the Senate until 5 pm on November 7th to respond to this request. Attorneys for Brewer told the court it had no legal right to overturn her decision to oust Mathis as Chair.
On November 7th,the state appellate screening panel met to discuss the replacement process. With Mathis back on the commission,this panel was no longer needed and was dissolved.
The Commission filed suit against the governor and the Legislature.
On November 11th, the League of Women Voters of Arizona (LWVAZ) and the ACDC Coalition filed an Amicus Brief on this suit in support of the commission.
On November 17th, the AZ Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the governor exceeded her authority when she fired Mathis. The court ruled that the firing of Mathis was illegal and that she is reinstated as chairwoman of the Commission.
November 21st, the governor and senate Republicans asked the Supreme Court to block Colleen Mathis from acting as chairwoman, at least for the time being, despite the justices ruling that she was illegally fired.
On December 20th, the commission adopted a tentative congressional map pending analyses by panel's legal counsel and voter rights consultants and this draft was sent to the Department of Justice in January 2012. It also adopted a legislative district map which was sent to the Department of Justice at the end of February 2012.
The Congressional district map was approved by the Department of Justice on April 4.
The Legislative districts map was approved by the Department of Justice on April 27.
On April 28, two Fair Trust lawsuits were filed against the IRC. One filed in state court challenges the map of nine U.S. House districts but doesn't ask for an interim map. The other lawsuit challenging the legislative districts asked that a three-judge panel of federal judges draw an interim legislative map for use in this year's elections.
On May 3, the Legislature gave House Speaker Tobin authority to file a lawsuit to challenge the existence of the IRC.
To see the maps, visit the commission's website at http://www.azredistricting.org.
The LWVAZ was instrumental in getting this original initiative written in 2000 and passed by the voters.
The League has been an active core member of this coalition of organizations and individuals working to promote more competitive districts in the outcome of our redistricting process.
ACDC ran the first in the nation contest for the public to try their hand at map drawing to meet all the needs of the Voting Rights Act and competitive districts. Over 300 people listed their `profiles' on the contest site and tried their hand at a map. And almost 800 maps were attempted. This is a major increase in public involvement and alone a great success.
The coalition has run the site for PUBLIC MAPPING at http://www.azredistricting.com. The LWVAZ also contributed funds to the functioning of the site and for contest prize money.
On August 2nd, a press conference, conducted by the co-chairs of ACDC, Ken Clark (D) and Roberta Voss (R), was held at the capitol to present prizes to the winners of the public mapping contest. One of the three judges was Tricia Gerrodette, a League member from Cochise County. Barbara Klein, LWVAZ president, oversaw the panel of judges for scheduling and arrangements.
The winners of the contest were: Best Congressional maps: Glen Jacques, Phoenix, AZ and Stuart Wright of Ohio. Best Legislative maps: Sam Almy, Tucson, AZ and Glen Jacques, Phoenix, AZ. These winners were each awarded $500. Klein presented the final reports from the judges to the IRC the following day.
Read the complete report at Results of Mapping Contest
ACDC (and League members) will continue to work as a `watch dog' group for the IRC.
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League of Women Voters of Arizona. All rights reserved.
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