Revamp of Arizona panel that guards against gerrymandering is one step from ballot

Republicans in the Arizona House on Wednesday pushed through a proposal to revamp the commission that draws the state's political boundaries.

The House voted 32-25 to approve the measure to overhaul Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission, which sets political district lines that determine who represents voters in Congress and the state Legislature.

The vote, with Republicans in favor and Democrats in opposition, came as lawmakers were working to put together and pass a final budget.

Any changes to the commission require a vote of the people in the form of an amendment to the Arizona Constitution.

The measure faces one more vote in the Arizona Senate, where it is likely to pass with backing from the Republican majority, before it is placed on the November ballot.

RELATED: Gerrymandering: Arizona is a national model for fairness

Making commission more fair?

Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1034, will create "fairer partisan representation" on the map-making panel.

Republicans complain that the current commission, which was appointed in 2011, drew maps to favor Democrats. A decade earlier, it was the Democrats who complained that the commission favored Republicans.

Voters took away the state Legislature's power to draw political districts in 2000, when they gave the job to the independent commission. The commission redraws maps every decade, to match population changes in the Census.

Arizona is one of a few states with an independent, bipartisan commission. Experts say its political lines are among the least gerrymandered in the United States as a result.

Could measure reduce minority representation?

Democrats and a voter advocacy groups argue the measure is a thinly-veiled attempt to skew the commission in favor of Republicans. They accused Mesnard of trying to rush through changes. He denies that.

"The bill has been out for weeks, if not months, and there has been opportunity for discussion," Mesnard said.

The measure's most controversial provision would require the populations of districts to be more equal in number.

Critics of SCR 1034 say that could lead to less minority representation in the state Legislature because slight population differences make it easier to draw minority-majority districts.

They worry it could decrease representation of Native Americans and other minority voters, who typically vote for Democrats.

That matters because, under current practice, the commission can draw districts that vary in population by up to 10 percent.

Several Native-American lawmakers spoke against the measure during an emotional hour-long debate on the House floor.

They said the measure could make it difficult for the Navajo Nation to elect a candidate of their choice given the district that covers the reservation was drawn with the state's highest population deviation.

"This does nothing more than to undermine the Voting Rights Act and to undermine the votes of the constituents in my district," said Rep. Wenona Benally, D-Window Rock, "and undermine my vote as a member of the Navajo Nation."

Other voters 'matter just as much'

SCR 1034 would cap population differences between districts to 2 percent, limiting the commission's flexibility to draw majority Latino or Native American districts.

Courts have generally held that while population should be nearly equal, minor variations are acceptable for legislative districts if that flexibility helps secure minority representation.

Mesnard called the issue a matter of "equality" and fairness.

He said under Arizona's legislative district maps from 2011, some districts have as many as 18,707 more residents — effectively giving voters in white-majority districts less say than those in minority-majority districts.

"I have the upmost respect, I truly do, for our tribes," Mesnard said. "If you do the math, you can still have a tribal district and still comply with the 2 percent deviation to ensure that the rest of the people of the state, who also matter and have to matter just as much, are equally represented by their government."

Panel would expand to nine members

SCR 1034, would also expand the size of the redistricting commission. The panel currently has five members: two Republicans, two Democrats and one independent.

Republicans want to increase the commission to nine members: three Republicans, three Democrats and three independents. That would affect the next commission, which is to be seated in 2021.

Mesnard said the current, five-person makeup ensures one person becomes the tiebreaker vote, giving them "immense power" over the process.

Republicans' original proposal would have allowed the Legislature to sidestep the commission and redraw its own district maps and take them to voters for their approval. They removed that piece from the measure after a torrent of criticism.

The measure would also require more geographic diversity among the commission's members. It requires that commissioners hail from both more urban and rural counties.

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