Arizona voters adopted a ballot initiative in 2000 creating an independent commission with responsibility for drawing congressional and legislative district boundaries. But the state legislature has fought back in recent years, arguing that only it can create the districts. The resulting dispute, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, is now before the court.
Gerard Magliocca, a constitutional law expert at the IU McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, said removing districting authority from the legislature is one way to address the problem of partisan gerrymandering. In Indiana, the legislature this year created a study committee to examine alternatives to the current system, in which lawmakers draw congressional and legislative district maps.
“The parties are mainly arguing over the meaning of Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution, which states: ‘The Times, Places, and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof,’” Magliocca said. “Does this provision mean that a state cannot give districting power to an independent commission without the legislature’s consent, which is what Arizona did with a constitutional referendum in 2000?
“If the court says yes, then any state constitutional provision that deals with voting in congressional elections could be vulnerable to attack.”
Magliocca is the Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law at the McKinney School of Law. To speak with him, contact Rebecca Trimpe at 317-274-8019 or [email protected].
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