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RandySF's JournalRedistricting commissioners at odds whether to appeal ruling that tossed Michigan legislative maps
Members of Michigan’s first independent redistricting commission publicly disagreed Thursday over how to respond to a recent federal court ruling that invalidated more than a dozen districts in the maps they drew.
It was the first time the independent citizens redistricting commission met since seismic federal court decision that ordered the commission to redraw 13 state legislative districts. The lawsuit had accused the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of drawing racially gerrymandered districts in and around Detroit, thus reducing the power and representations of Black voters that live there.
What the next steps for the commission will be, however, remain unclear. As soon as discussion on the ruling opened, commissioner Steve Lett made a motion to appeal the court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Directly after, the commission’s attorney David Fink urged the panel to enter a closed session to discuss the issue in private, telling them “it becomes virtually impossible for counsel to provide accurate and confidential advice” if they don’t and would weaken them in court to speak about it publicly.
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2023/12/redistricting-commissioners-at-odds-whether-to-appeal-ruling-that-tossed-michigan-legislative-maps.html
Missouri House GOP changes campaign leader amid row with Senate
Missouri lawmakers return next week to Jefferson City for their annual session with a new fight brewing between House and Senate Republicans that may have hastened a change in duties for long-time House GOP political strategist Jonathan Ratliff.
Ratliff, who leveraged his success building a legislative supermajority into a political consulting firm with a variety of clients, will be replaced as executive director of the House Republican Campaign Committee. Ratliff will be retained as a “senior consultant,” Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson said in a statement issued Friday.
In the statement, Patterson praised Ratliff for his performance, noting he had helped the committee, known as the HRCC, raise over $20 million and bring in 569 Republican victories in 14 years.
The announcement came a week after the committee filed a brief with the Missouri Supreme Court in a lawsuit seeking changes to the state Senate district map. The filing prompted an urgent call from Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin to Patterson asking why House Republicans wanted changes in a map that is acceptable to Senate Republicans.
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/12/28/missouri-house-gop-removes-campaign-leader-amid-row-with-senate/
WA: Conservatives file measure to make opting out of WA long-term care tax easier
It would become a lot easier for workers to stop paying Washington’s new long-term care services tax under an initiative delivered Thursday to the Secretary of State.
The proposed ballot measure, Initiative 2124, adds a requirement that “an employee or self-employed person in Washington must elect” to have money deducted from their paycheck for coverage and be able to “opt-out at any time.”
Current law requires most employees in the state to pay the payroll tax. Individuals are eligible for the lifetime benefit of $36,500 if they pay into the program for at least 10 years without a break from work of five years or more. The maximum benefit figure will be adjusted for inflation.
Critics say not everyone who pays in will ever be able to qualify for the full benefit and thus should be able to get out of the program if they desire.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/conservatives-file-measure-to-make-opting-out-of-wa-long-term-care-tax-easier/
AZ: GOP lawmakers grill former justice on Maricopa County ballot printer problems
Two Republican state lawmakers questioned former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor on Thursday about an independent investigation she did into Maricopa County’s ballot printer issues during the 2022 general election.
McGregor’s report, released earlier this year, determined that the Oki printers the county used malfunctioned because the ballots were larger and printed on heavier paper than in past elections. The investigation was prompted by an Election Day that was marred by long delays after the printer errors meant thousands of ballots couldn’t be read by polling location ballot tabulators.
Although all of the ballots affected were ultimately counted by different machines at the county’s election headquarters, the printer malfunction and resulting chaos on Election Day created a new swath of conspiracy theories around Maricopa County’s handling of elections.
McGregor, who was hired by the county to lead the investigation, gave the House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability and Big Tech a lengthy rundown on how her team conducted its work and their key findings. The committee is chaired by Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, a lawyer known for bringing cases alleging election fraud and defending those who spread baseless conspiracy theories.
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/12/28/gop-lawmakers-grill-former-justice-on-maricopa-county-ballot-printer-problems/
MD: Denise Roberts chosen by Prince George's Democrats to fill vacant delegate seat
The Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee selected Denise Roberts on Thursday to fill a vacant seat in the House of Delegates.
The central committee will forward Roberts’ name to Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has up to 15 days to confirm the appointment.
Roberts, who worked as communications director for county State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D), received 19 of the 26 votes from her fellow county Democrats.
Five other Democratic challengers sought the vacant seat, including former Del. Angela Angel, who turned 44 years old on Tuesday but didn’t receive a vote.
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/12/28/denise-roberts-chosen-by-prince-georges-democrats-to-fill-vacant-delegate-seat/
'Parental Rights' Mom Accused of Slugging Kid at Boozy Teen Party She Hosted
A one-time Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania and anti-woke “parental rights” crusader is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly furnishing her 17-year-old daughter’s friends with alcohol and punching one of them in the face when the freaked-out teen tried to leave.
It was the second time in five days that cops had been called to Clarice Schillinger’s home in the Philadelphia suburb of Doylestown, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast. There were roughly 20 minors at the “underage drinking party,” some as young as 15, the affidavit states.
“Schillinger not only provided the alcoholic beverages, but poured shots and drank along with the minors, even participating in drinking games,” the affidavit alleges.
Schillinger, who glowingly called Donald Trump “sharp as a tack,” after meeting the former president last year at Mar-a-Lago, will fight the case, her lawyer said on Thursday.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/parental-rights-mom-clarice-schillinger-accused-of-slugging-kid-at-boozy-teen-party-she-hosted?ref=wrap
Judge Accepts New GOP-Friendly Georgia Congressional And Legislative Districts
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday accepted new Georgia congressional and legislative voting districts that protect Republican partisan advantages, saying the creation of new majority-Black voting districts fixed illegal minority vote dilution that led him to order maps be redrawn.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, in three separate but similarly worded orders, rejected claims that the new maps didn’t do enough to help Black voters. Jones said he couldn’t interfere with legislative choices, even if Republicans moved to protect their power. The maps were redrawn in a recent special legislative session after Jones in October ruled that a prior set of maps illegally harmed Black voters.
The approval of the maps sets the stage for them to be used in 2024?s upcoming elections. They’re likely to keep the same 9-5 Republican majority among Georgia’s 14 congressional seats, while also retaining GOP majorities in the state Senate and House.
The maps added the Black-majority districts that Jones ordered in October, including one in Congress, two in the state Senate and five in the state House. But they radically reconfigure some Democratic-held districts that don’t have Black majorities, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s 7th District in the Atlanta suburbs.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/georgia-redrawn-voting-districts-gop_n_658dc6e5e4b0b01d3e3f5fe0
Florida Mayor (D) Removes Confederate Monument Despite GOP Pushback
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Crews removed a Confederate monument from a Jacksonville, Florida, park Wednesday morning following years of public controversy.
Mayor Donna Deegan ordered the removal of the “Tribute to the Women of the Southern Confederacy” monument, which has been in Springfield Park since 1915. She said the decision is not an attempt to erase history but to show that people have learned from it.
“Symbols matter. They tell the world what we stand for and what we aspire to be,” Deegan said in a statement. “By removing the confederate monument from Springfield Park, we signal a belief in our shared humanity. That we are all created equal. The same flesh and bones. The same blood running through our veins. The same heart and soul.”
A proposal to remove the Confederate women tribute was introduced to the Jacksonville City Council in 2021, but the Republican-controlled board never moved on it. Earlier this month, Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel determined that city council approval was unnecessary because city funds were not being used for the work. As the city’s top executive, Deegan, a Democrat, had the authority to order the statue’s removal, city attorneys said. The $187,000 bill is being covered by a grant that the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and anonymous donors made to 904WARD, city officials said.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bc-us-confederate-monuments-jacksonville_n_658dfcbee4b0cd3cf0e4ea2c
Rep. Lucy McBath to switch districts due to Georgia redistricting
Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) announced Thursday that she will pursue election in Georgia’s 6th District in 2024 after a federal judge approved a GOP-led redistricting plan, which changed her current 7th District seat to favor Republicans.
The Atlanta congresswoman promised to continue a legal fight against the new district maps but vowed to run in the 6th District if the current maps stand.
“I refuse to allow an extremist few Republicans decide when my work in Congress is finished,” she said in a statement. “I hope that the judicial system will not allow the state legislature to suppress the will of Georgia voters.”
“However, if the maps passed by the state legislature stand for the 2024 election cycle, I will be running for re-election to Congress in GA-06 because too much is at stake to stand down,” she added.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4380529-mcbath-switch-districts-georgia-redistricting/
Who are the 2 referees the Wisconsin Supreme Court named to review new maps?
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week ordered parties to a redistricting lawsuit to draw new legislative maps, it also named two referees to evaluate the maps’ adequacy.
The two consultants — University of California, Irvine political science professor Bernard Grofman and Carnegie Mellon University postdoctoral fellow Jonathan Cervas — may not be household names in Wisconsin, but they have played prominent roles in settling map disputes in other states.
In Wisconsin, they’ll weigh in on whether the maps abide by the court’s standard that any new maps contain equally populated districts; be bounded by county, precinct, ward or town lines; include only contiguous territory; be as compact as possible; and comply with federal law.
They’ll also assess whether the maps preserve communities of interest, reduce municipal splits and are drawn so that no party benefits more than the other.
https://kenoshanews.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/wisconsin-redistricting-consultant/article_d52fe4ac-541d-54a8-b032-23f992dc8d20.html
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