AIRC Update: Tea-Publicans threatening to sue over district maps

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

House Speaker Andy Tobin and his aide John Mills, who together drafted GOP-friendly maps in secret without any public input (or even from his own Caucus), and who wanted to send a repeal of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) to a special election ballot — that effort failed — now wants the Tea-Publican Caucus to sue the AIRC over the new maps, and use your taxpayer dollars to do it. His abuse of power is shameless.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports House speaker proposes first lawsuit against redistricting map – Arizona Capitol Times:

House Speaker Andy Tobin is planning to ask lawmakers to sue the state’s redistricting commission over the constitutionality of the legislative map the panel crafted.

“We’d spend taxpayer money (on the lawsuit). You bet I would. In a minute,” he told the Arizona Capitol Times today.

* * *

“If I have to spend money on lawyers to fight back, I will. I hope you will join me and help me uphold the Constitution,” he said during his vote in favor of HB 2862 (funding the AIRC).

Ray Bladine, executive director of the redistricting commission, said he finds it ironic that Republican legislators complained about the money the IRC spent defending itself from lawsuits initiated by GOP elected officials and wouldn’t give the commission the $1.1 million it asked for.

“Recently, we were told (by Republican legislative leaders) we didn’t need as much money as we asked for because no one was going to sue us,” Bladine said.

And what is the basis for Tobin's lawsuit?

Tobin said the map, which last month was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice for preclearance, unconstitutionally distributes population. He said commissioners crafted Republican districts to have higher populations than Democratic districts in an effort to circumvent federal laws requiring the state not dilute minority voting power.

* * *

An analysis of the legislative map that was sent to the Department of Justice shows that 15 of the 16 safe Republican districts have more than the 213,068 people that would make up an ideal district. In 11 of those districts, the deviation is greater than 1 percent. All 10 of the safe Democratic districts have fewer people than an ideal district, including nine in which the deviation is greater than 1 percent.

Tobin's legal theory is frivolous.

A legal overview that O’Grady and Joe Kanefield, another IRC attorney, gave to the commission in July 2011 noted that “deviations of less than 10 percent … are presumptively valid” for legislative districts.

The largest deviation in any of the legislative districts drawn by the IRC is 4.7 percent.

Fail! Your tax dollars at work, pursuing frivolous lawsuits for tyrannical Tea-Publicans who do not feel they are bound by the Arizona Constitution or the rule of law, and have nothing but contempt for the voters of Arizona who enacted the AIRC.