[EL] How Democrats are ‘unilaterally disarming’ in the redistricting wars

[Pildes, Rick]

I have a question about the recent Politico story with that title.  I’m inclined to think it’s misleading.

>From my recollection, in most of these examples, it is not Democratic legislatures that have created these independent commissions.  It is voters, through voter initiatives, that have created them.  As far as I can recall, the only two states in which Democratic legislatures did this are VA and OR.  In VA, that was because Democrats campaigned throughout the decade against the Republican gerrymander and insisted on a commission; once they got in power, most Democrats tried to walk away from their prior commitment, but just enough of them felt obligated to stick with that commitment, and so, with a lot of Republican votes, the commission was adopted.  The situation in OR, which is unique, does fit the claim of the piece.  But it seems to me more wrong than right to claim that Democratic legislatures are voluntarily giving up the power to redistrict where they have it.

Let me know if I’m missing parts of the larger picture.



Best,
Rick

Richard H. Pildes
Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
NYU School of Law
347-886-6789

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