We have 30 days to decide Arizona’s voting maps for the next ten years. Last Thursday, the AZ Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) reviewed, haggled, tweaked, and finally accepted draft maps for Legislative and Congressional districts.
The IRC is now required to receive public input for 30 days on the draft maps. The first public hearing will be a virtual town hall on Saturday, November 6 at 10:00.
Register to speak in advance.
I did, and you can too. Participants must be registered by 9 am on the day of the event.
Expect throngs of red-shirted Republicans to speak at the upcoming IRC town halls and hearings. They will be vocal in their support of the Approved Legislative Draft Map.
Unfortunately, during Thursday’s meeting Chair Erika Neuberg once again sided with the Republican Commissioners and voted to adopt Commissioner David Mehl’s LD Test Map 9.2, which was the basis for the Approved Legislative Draft Map.
- This is the map that jams a safe Republican district (LD 17) into suburban Tucson by combining Marana, Oro Valley, Tanque Verde, and Vail. LD17 has an almost 10-point voter spread in favor of the Republican Party.
- This is the suspect map that the CEO of the anti-consumer Southern Arizona Leadership Council delivered to Republican hack David Mehl. Mehl founded the group to manufacture Republican candidates. GOP bagman Jim Click is on the board.
- This is the map that was actually submitted by GOP spy, Anna Clark, 2nd vice-chair of the Pima County Republican Party.
- This is the map that puts Oro Valley in LD17, a sprawling gerrymandered district that extends from Marana over the Catalina Mountains to Redington and from Catalina to south of Vail.
- This is the map that creates the all-white crescent or the inverted C around Tucson.
- This is the map that ensures Republicans control of the state legislature for the next ten years.
Your testimony will matter. Commissioner Neuberg stated that when people turn out, “it is significant.”
Public comments can be made at the Virtual Town Hall on Saturday, Nov. 6th, starting at 10 am and ending after all comments are heard. Register to speak 11/6/21. A Spanish language interpreter and a sign language interpreter will be available to assist people who would like to participate.
For further suggestions on talking points/your testimony click here or contact info@demsov.org we’ll help you craft your message.
👎 The Congressional district final draft map: Click here
👎 Legislative district final draft map: Click here
Use the link below to view maps and the IRC’s Demographic and Competitive Data Analysis for these final versions. IRC Draft Map webpage
You can watch the IRC hearings live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/
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I found a link and commented. Thanks!
You need to use the registration link to comment in writing
https://click.ngpvan.com/k/38263094/314660559/1256407844?ticket=4832534b00000005419b766a08555376427f1f46ce9c697d1781370ce5aedb298ceabaf799135a79×tamp=1635956950187&locale=en_US&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9OR1AvTkdQMzEvMS85Mjk3MCIsDQogICJEaXN0cmlidXRpb25VbmlxdWVJZCI6ICI3MWVjYTRjMC1jNjNjLWVjMTEtOTgyMC1jODk2NjUzYjI2YzgiLA0KICAiRW1haWxBZGRyZXNzIjogImxhcnJ5Ym9kaW5lbm93QGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=f2IVu5j-Is5hvpadcYSTZbxd60fO9v0PcMH2pJ1HRto=&emci=23f82ef5-fd3b-ec11-9820-c896653b26c8&emdi=71eca4c0-c63c-ec11-9820-c896653b26c8&ceid=530565
Are there proposed maps that people can support, rather than just say we don’t like the current maps? I’d much like to see how we can do it better.
It’s not just the Democratic bastion of Tucson getting gerrymandered, but also the Democratic bastion of Flagstaff, again. “As independent commission releases draft maps, some raise concerns over northern Arizona districts”, https://azdailysun.com/news/local/as-independent-commission-releases-draft-maps-some-raise-concerns-over-northern-arizona-districts/article_17d8ccb8-4445-53bf-a6e9-e4c23e8980fb.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
[A]t least in terms of the current districts for the northern portion of the state, several northern Arizona leaders have hoped the commission will take a second look at the maps.
“I don’t think the map that was presented, the draft map that was presented by the IRC, is in our best interest in terms of Coconino County,” said County Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez during a discussion of the maps last week.
During that meeting, the supervisors moved to send the IRC another round of suggestions on how the maps could better provide representation to northern Arizona communities within and outside of Coconino County. The suggestions sent by the county supervisors were also endorsed by Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy in a letter sent to the commission.
Concerns are largely centered around the draft legislative maps. Those maps determine the district boundaries for the state senate and house.
Still, as the commission has discussed the maps in recent days, much of the attention has been focused on the Tucson and Phoenix areas rather than on northern Arizona.
Supervisors expressed concerns over the ability of tribal voices to be consistently heard in the state capital given how the boundaries are currently drawn, as well as the splitting of several communities that had hoped to be contained within a single district.
Finally, supervisors pointed to how, as the draft districts are drawn, there is not a single competitive district within northern Arizona.
The draft districts passed by the commission largely split Coconino County in two, placing most of the county within the Native American-centered District 6, which also includes the city of Flagstaff.
In addition to Flagstaff, District 6 as drawn would include much of northern and eastern Arizona, including the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation before swinging to the south to include the Fort Apache Reservation and San Carlos Reservation as well.
Of the voting age population within the new district, about 7% are Hispanic while about 54% identified as Native American. That is compared to Native Americans making up about 68% of the population in the current majority minority legislative district that was adopted last cycle.
And supervisors worried that the lower percentage of Native American voters could mean a less consistent tribal voice within the state legislature.
The supervisors suggested adjustments, including dropping Flagstaff from that district, which would bring the number of Native American voters within the district to 58% of its population.
Areas mostly south and southeast of Flagstaff would make up the new District 7 in the draft. That district would include Williams, Sedona, Winslow, Snowflake, Show Low and Eager before swinging south to pick up Payson, Globe and Florence.
Verde Valley would largely be included within District 5 along with Prescott.
County Board Chair Matt Ryan said in his view, the proposed districts ignored much of the public testimony that the commission had heard from the county and other interest groups, specifically around communities of interest that had wanted to be grouped within a single district.
During listening sessions earlier this year, the commission had heard a desire from Camp Verde to be separated from Prescott and instead be included within the same district as Sedona. Likewise, the commission heard testimony that Flagstaff and Sedona should be within the same district.
“They have heard from us here in northern Arizona, both in terms of the County Board of Supervisors as well as the city of Flagstaff, as well as business people in northern Arizona, as well as the folks down in Sedona — I mean there has been numerous testimony to […] especially preserve our communities of interest,” said Supervisor Patrice Horstman, echoing Ryan.
Changing the maps to include Flagstaff within District 7 rather than 6 would also make District 7 much more competitive, providing the northern portion of the state with at least one competitive district, Ryan said.
At the moment, none of the commission’s draft districts within northern Arizona are competitive.
The Native American-centered Legislative District 6, which also includes Flagstaff, leans Democrat by 42 points while District 7 to the south leans Republican by 29 points.
To the southwest, the planned Legislative District 5, containing Prescott and much of the Verde Valley, is a safe Republican district by more than 20 points.
Meanwhile, farther west, the proposed District 3 runs down much of the state’s western edge and includes Kingman and about half of the Arizona Strip and favors Republicans by more than 48 points.
Draft congressional district
The draft maps depict Congressional District 2 representing most of northern Arizona, including Coconino County, and large portions of central Arizona north of the Phoenix area. Both Payson and Prescott would be encompassed by the district, as would Flagstaff, the entirety of the Navajo Nation and several other tribes.
Much like the current Congressional District 1, the new District 2 would also cover much of eastern Arizona before curling between Phoenix and Tucson, encompassing Globe, Surprise, Show Low and Florence.
According to the commission, the new district is considered a fairly safe Republican seat with Republican candidates favored by more than 7 points. The commission considers a difference of more than 4 points noncompetitive.
The new district’s voting age population would be about 13% Hispanic with about 21% identifying as Native American.
To submit comments for the maps, visit bit.ly/3pXVJRh, scroll down to the legislative or congressional section and click on Provide Feedback.
Can comments by made in writing?
The link provided does not work.
Try https://azgov.webex.com/webappng/sites/azgov/meeting/register/c5cb46407cf24554acda707bbffe52f2?