Fair Districts 2012

Taxpayer Network sent this press release today relating to the Congressional Lines. Those lines are not covered by the Fair Districts 2012 Referendum, which only pertains to State Senate district lines.

LOS ANGELES — Omar Navarro, Charles Patrick, Gwen Patrick, Trung Phan and retired congressman George Radanovich today filed a complaint in Federal District Court, for the Central District of California challenging congressional lines drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) that violate the U.S. Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act. [Continue Reading Press Release...]

View the Court Filing Here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, November 10, 2011

SACRAMENTO, CA  — Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting (FAIR), the committee formed to lead a referendum campaign against the unfair and deficient State Senate district lines adopted by the state redistricting commission, this morning began the process of submitting signatures to county elections officials in all 58 counties.  With signatures being collected and submitted in some counties up until the very last minute, a final total won’t be available until late Sunday.  FAIR is confident that enough signatures have been collected to put the Senate maps to a vote of the people next November.

“We began submitting signatures this morning, using the referendum process that has been in place in California for 100 years,” said Senator Mimi Walters. “Our goal is to achieve a State Senate district plan that is fair to all and that follows the criteria laid out in the California Constitution.”

FAIR was formed after the adoption of the Senate redistricting plan by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. Of the four plans adopted by the commission (congress, senate, assembly and board of equalization) the Senate plan has come under the most scrutiny, with critics, such as FAIR, noting that it includes bizarre shaped districts, numerous unnecessary county and city splits and the division of key communities of interest, all trademarks of gerrymandering. In addition the plan has come under attack for potential Voting Rights Act violations.

California voters are waking up to the fact that the well-intentioned redistricting reform process was hi-jacked by political activists who went so far as to violate the very law that created the Commission in order to draw lines that fit their agenda. The result was a Senate Plan that creates a Democrat Super-Majority and one-party rule in the State Senate.

With the Mail, Bounty and Paid programs all up and running, thousands of referendum signatures are arriving daily and being checked for validity.

FAIR and its partner, the California Republican Party, have until mid-November to gather the required 504,760 valid signatures needed to stop the Senate Plan from taking effect for 2012.

Referendum Hits 200,000 Signature Mark

Our signature drive passed the 200,000 count this week – about a week ahead of projections. We have until November 13 to collect the 504,760 signatures needed to qualify the referendum and stop the Commission’s Senate plan from taking effect.  With signatures being collected faster than expected and with a strong volunteer and direct mail effort underway, FAIR is recalculating weekly signature projections for October and early November. The good news is that we will be able to finish the signature drive sooner than planned if the direct mail and volunteer signatures continue to outpace projections.

CRP Signature Bounty Program kicks off

The CRP has instituted a bounty program for referendum signatures submitted by volunteer groups. This program will supplement FAIR’s paid signature program and help us reach and exceed our signature goals.

Early Direct Mail Returns Strong

The first 2 days of direct mail returns from the CRP petition mailing indicate very high interest and support for the Senate Plan referendum. Petition returns are averaging 2 valid signatures and many voters are including a donation. The average donation is just over $23.

Supreme Court Sets Schedule for FAIR-Backed Lawsuit

The California Supreme Court has put the FAIR-backed legal challenge to the Senate Plan on a fast track  schedule.  The Redistricting Commission has been given until October 10 to respond to our lawsuit.  By mid-October, the Court should have everything they need to issue a ruling.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 15, 2011

SACRAMENTO, CA —  A Petition for Writ of Mandate or Prohibition is being filed today in the California Supreme Court, challenging the Citizens’ Redistricting Commission’s Senate Maps.  The lawsuit is being supported by Fairness & Accountability in Redistricting (FAIR), the group currently circulating referendum petitions against the Senate plan. It is the first lawsuit filed challenging the maps produced by the Redistricting Commission.

“It is very important that these legal questions go before the court now, so they can examine the full scope of constitutional issues and be prepared to draw new maps once we finish gathering signatures on the referendum,” said FAIR consultant Dave Gilliard.

The Petition alleges the Senate Maps violated 4 provisions of Proposition 11/20 (Article XXI, § 2(d) of the California Constitution.)  These violations include:

• 11 Districts violate compactness, contiguity and respect for geographic integrity of counties and communities of interest.

• 7 Districts unnecessarily split two major counties, San Bernardino and Sacramento Counties, giving each county parts of six different districts but no district wholly within either county. This is worse than the pre-Baker v Carr Senate plan in which each county had at least one senator.  The federal courts held the 1960s plan unconstitutional for lacking population equality, but at least San Bernardino and Sacramento Counties could be assured of a senator under the old plan; they cannot under the Commission’s plan.

• The Maps fail to assure Latino residents of Monterey and Santa Clara County effective representation by a single Senator from areas that have a history of electing Latino Assembly members; the Maps also dilute Latino voting interests in the western San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles County in violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act.

The Court is also being asked to convene special masters now to advise the Court on the constitutional claims and to be ready to draw interim boundaries for Senate districts upon likely qualification of the referendum. The filing also suggests to the Court several alternative methods of drawing new Senate boundaries for the 2012 elections.

The Sacramento law firm of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP represents the Petitioner.  Expert testimony is offered by Dr. T. Anthony Quinn, PhD, a well- known expert on California redistricting.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 13, 2011

SACRAMENTO, CA — The group backing a referendum of the State Senate redistricting plan announced today that they have already collected over 100,000 signatures toward the effort.  The signatures were collected by paid and volunteer signature gatherers, working over the last 10 days.

“We are off to a very good start and on track to qualify the referendum,” said Dave Gilliard, consultant for Fairness & Accountability in Redistricting, the group promoting the referendum. “Volunteers are excited and working hard and our paid crews are reporting great numbers from the field.”

“When voters passed the redistricting commission initiatives, they did so hoping to get a fair, balanced and non-partisan redistricting plan,” Gilliard said. “After seeing the gerrymandered maps, they are beginning to realize that the redistricting process was hijacked by partisan activists who produced a plan that will result in one-party rule in Sacramento.”

FAIR has until November 14 to collect the 504,760 valid signatures needed to qualify a referendum. Once the signatures are collected, the Senate plan adopted by the commission will be put on hold until 2014, and the Supreme Court will draft a new plan for the 2012 election.

The commission’s flaws are almost too numerous to believe: a brief and inadequate background check of commission applicants, an inability to deliver three draft maps for public input, and a failure to follow an open and transparent process. As a result, voters are left with maps, which at least one commissioner believes, violate federal law.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hrabe/californias-unsound-redis_b_945042.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 29 2011

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Citizens Redistricting Commission, charged with drawing district maps for California’s politicians, is attempting to thwart the voter’s right to decide whether those maps should become law. Today they sent a letter from their law firm demanding changes to the official title and summary prepared by the Attorney General and released on Friday.

“The unelected and unaccountable redistricting commission is now using tax dollars to pay two high priced San Francisco laws firm to stop the voters from exercising their constitutional right to referendum,” said Dave Gilliard, consultant to the group Fairness & Accountability in Redistricting. “The commission’s job is to draw district lines, not thwart the rights of the voters.”

Proposition 11 and Proposition 20, which created the Redistricting Commission and spelled out their responsibility is drawing district lines, granted them the authority to defend their maps against lawsuits, but gave them NO authority to interfere and inject themselves into a referendum effort or to sue over a title and summary.

“The Commission is frantically trying to stop voters from scrutinizing their maps, which in numerous cases violate the Constitution,” said State Senator Mimi Walters.  “They know we only have a short period of time to gather signatures, and they are deliberately trying to run out the clock with these frivolous challenges. The fact that they are using tax dollars to subvert the referendum process is unconscionable.”

This is the second time in less than a week that the Commission has tried to stop or slow down the referendum process. Earlier, they sent a letter to the Attorney General demanding that referendum proponents print a 40 plus page petition, which would have made it impossible to circulate.

Referendum Signatures will Block Senate Maps for 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 26 2011

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Attorney General has issued a title and summary for the referendum of the State Senate district plan. The referendum is sponsored by the group Fairness & Accountability In Redistricting (FAIR).

“The Attorney General’s title and summary is clear and to the point,” said FAIR consultant Dave Gilliard. “It states that by gathering the required signatures, we will ‘prevent’ the plan from taking effect unless it is approved by the voters. It also states that our referendum will ‘Require court-appointed officials to set interim boundaries for use in the next statewide election’.”

This should put to rest any thought that the Court will allow the Commission’s gerrymandered lines to be in effect for 2012,” Gilliard said. “We can now begin the process of gathering the signatures we need to stop the Senate maps from taking effect before voters have had their say.”

Here is the wording of the title and summary:

REDISTRICTING. STATE SENATE DISTRICTS. REFERENDUM.
State Senate districts are revised every ten years following the federal census. This year, the voter-approved California Citizens Redistricting Commission revised the boundaries of the 40 Senate districts. This referendum petition, if signed by the required number of registered voters and filed with the Secretary of State, will: (1) Place the revised State Senate boundaries on the ballot and prevent them from taking effect unless approved by the voters at the next statewide election; and (2) Require court-appointed officials to set interim boundaries for use in the next statewide election.