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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2016)
Page 10 The Skanner July 6, 2016 News By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press T hey have nicknames like “the dead liz- ard,” ‘’the praying mantis” and “the upside-down elephant.” The odd-shaped legis- lative districts that dot many states are no coin- cidence. The jagged lines oten have been carefully drawn by state lawmak- ers to beneit particular incumbents or politi- cal parties. The tactic, known as gerrymander- ing, is nearly as old as the country itself. It’s also a maneuver that can result in an underrepresentation of minorities in some “ But racial gerryman- dering can occur in a couple of ways: when mi- nority communities are divided among multiple districts, thus diluting their voting strength; or when minorities are heavily packed into a sin- gle district, thus dimin- ishing their likelihood of winning multiple seats. Federal judges ruled recently that lawmakers illegally packed large numbers of black vot- ers into congressional districts in North Car- olina and Virginia. But the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Arizona map that increased Hispanic percentages in some dis- tricts by loading more al concerns. Indiana is studying redistricting changes, and a redistrict- ing initiative will appear on the ballot this fall in South Dakota. Voters in Illinois could decide this November on a proposed constitution- al amendment that would strip the redistricting responsibility from the Legislature and hand it to a new 11-member citi- zen panel that would be barred from favoring any political party as it draws the boundaries. “If you remove the par- tisan intent, then you make it much easier to draw maps that are fair for everyone, including minority groups,” said Across the U.S, minorities now comprise near- ly two-iths of the population, yet hold less than one-ith of all legislative seats legislatures. Across the U.S, minorities now com- prise nearly two-iths of the population, yet hold less than one-ith of all legislative seats, according to an Associat- ed Press analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bu- reau, Congress and the National Conference of State Legislatures. Federal guidelines re- quire that legislative dis- tricts are similar in pop- ulation and not drawn to deny minorities a chance to elect the candidate of their choice. white voters in others. Meanwhile, momen- tum appears to be build- ing to pare back the role of partisan politics in re- districting. The politically power- ful states of California, Florida, New York and Ohio all have overhauled their redistricting pro- cesses in recent years. Nebraska lawmakers passed a measure this year to create an inde- pendent redistricting panel, though it was vetoed by a governor who cited constitution- Dave Mellet, campaign manager for Indepen- dent Maps, the organi- zation sponsoring the Illinois initiative. President Barack Obama also called for re- districting reforms ear- lier this year, suggesting that bipartisan groups handle the task. In most places, state lawmakers currently divvy up districts every 10 years, ater each cen- sus. But commissions are primarily responsible for U.S. congressional redistricting in six states AP PHOTO/ERIC GAY, FILE Can Redistricting Reform Close the Minority Gap in Capitols? In this May 30, 2013 ile photo, Texas state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa looks at maps on display prior to a Senate Redistricting committee hearing in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court handed Texas a victory Monday, April 4, 2016, upholding the state’s system of drawing legislative voting districts based on everyone who lives there, not just registered voters. and for state legislative redistricting in 13 states, with varying degrees of political independence. Some minority law- makers want to expand the use of special redis- tricting panels. An appointed commis- sion “creates the appear- ance of more fairness, and you’d have more of an opportunity for there to be more diversi- ty if you do it that way,” said Delaware state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, the only black senator in a state where Afri- can-Americans comprise more than one-ith of the population. An independent com- mission began handling redistricting in Califor- nia following the 2010 census as the result of a voter-approved initia- tive. The nonpartisan Pub- lic Policy Institute of California found that the maps produced by the independent com- mission included six additional Assembly districts where Latinos comprised a majority of residents and one more in the Senate. The maps also created the state’s irst district where Asian Americans were a majority. Assemblyman Luis Alejo, chairman of the California Latino Legis- lative Caucus, cites low- er voter turnout and the departure of some Latino incumbents for a decline. He is a supporter of the independent redistrict- ing commission as “a less political process” and be- lieves Latinos ultimately will beneit from it. OBITUARY: Alberta Moody June 14, 1929 - June 28, 2016 Alberta Moody was born in Hallsville, Texas to Ellen Davis Sloan and Columbus Coby. In De- cember of 1946 she met the love of her life Cubby Earl Moody. They were married on January 16, 1947. Alberta gave birth Alberta Moody to their irst born son in 1948. They moved to Portland and shared a life together for 53 years. To this union ten more children were born. Her service will be July 11, 2016 at Mt. Olivet Bap- tist Church at 11:00 am.
