FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Thayer Verschoor

AZ Redistricting Commission Neglects Constitutional Mandate

Proposed Congressional Map Gerrymandered to Benefit Democrats

Phoenix – The Arizona Republican Party strongly condemns members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission for neglecting their constitutional duties in the crafting of the new Arizona Congressional District map. Three members of the Commission voted on Monday to adopt a draft map that is clearly gerrymandered and manipulated to favor certain Democrats in upcoming elections.

State Party Chairman Tom Morrissey denounced the three members for their apparent collusion and blatant obfuscation of the process. “This is not about partisanship. It’s about fairness. When the people of Arizona passed Proposition 106, they had fairness and transparency in mind. It’s stunning that the two Democrats and one Independent on the Commission would think they could roll over the Arizona Constitution and interfere with the Arizona public’s sacred right of political participation.”

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission receives its mandate in Article IV, Part 2, Section 1 of the Arizona Constitution in establishing Congressional Districts:

(14) The independent redistricting commission shall establish congressional and legislative districts. The commencement of the mapping process for both the congressional and legislative districts shall be the creation of districts of equal population in a grid-like pattern across the state. Adjustments to the grid shall then be made as necessary to accommodate the goals as set forth below:

A. Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution and the United States voting rights act;
B. Congressional districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable, and state legislative districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable;
C. Districts shall be geographically compact and contiguous to the extent practicable;
D. District boundaries shall respect communities of interest to the extent practicable;
E. To the extent practicable, district lines shall use visible geographic features, city, town and county boundaries, and undivided census tracts;
F. To the extent practicable, competitive districts should be favored where to do so would create no significant detriment to the other goals. 

Morrissey added, “With their blatant disregard of the ‘communities of interest’ and ‘geographically compact and contiguous’ provisions, these three Commissioners have flipped the law on its head to serve their political masters. The whole thing reeks of political collusion.”

Arizona Republican Party Chief of Staff Thayer Verschoor also remarked, “Republicans have watched in shock as these three Commissioners blatantly broke procurement procedures and even violated open meeting law. And to add insult to injury, when questioned about their actions, they thumbed their nose at the Attorney General.” Verschoor added, “It is time for Attorney General Horne to step in, force the AIRC to abide by its constitutional duties and make a dramatic correction to this process.”

Other elected officials were equally critical of the draft congressional maps:

Governor Jan Brewer : “Arizona voters are owed a redistricting process that is lawful and transparent. The Arizona Constitution mandates that IRC members conduct redistricting in an honest, independent and impartial fashion, upholding public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. Based on this proposal and the IRC’s prior behavior, it seems clear the commission is bent on awarding to the Democratic Party control of congressional districts that it could not win on Election Day. This is nothing less than neglect of duty and gross misconduct.” 

Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl: “We had hoped that the work of the Independent Redistricting Commission would be a fair process. It is clear that instead it has been political, which is very disappointing and must be corrected.” 

Congressman Paul Gosar : “I serve my constituents daily with several key principles in mind. They include honesty, integrity and accountability. Today I applaud Governor Brewer’s efforts to demand these same principles be used to make sure that all residents of Arizona are fairly represented and maintain the community of interest as required by the Arizona Constitution. All of these factors apply to the Independent Redistricting Commission and should in every step of the process.” 

Congressman Ben Quayle : “Like Governor Brewer, I have serious concerns about whether the preliminary congressional map drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission fairly represents all Arizonans. The IRC was supposed to take politics out of the redistricting process, but that obviously did not happen. This gerrymandered map was drawn with an undeniable partisan purpose. Arizonans deserve a map developed in a fair, nonpartisan manner.” 

Congressman David Schweikert : “This commission’s transparent effort to benefit Democrats makes a mockery of our redistricting law. Couple this with alleged violations of Arizona’s open meeting law and even a claim by one commissioner’s attorney that the open meeting law does not apply to them, and you are left with a process that has raised grave concerns about the shadiness in which this commission conducted it’s business.” 

Congressman Jeff Flake : “Simply put, the IRC’s proposed congressional map is not in the best interests of the state of Arizona. Drawing a map that everyone can agree on is an unenviable task in a state with concerns as unique as Arizona’s, but the IRC seems to have sacrificed communities of interest for competitiveness. While that might make some partisans happy, it ignores the law.” 

Arizona Speaker of the House Andy Tobin : “Up until now I have intentionally not commented on the actions of the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) hoping they would follow their constitutionally mandated duty of providing fair maps in an independent and transparent manner. Unfortunately this has not happened. The spirit of the voters’ intent in developing fair and independent maps has been hijacked.” 

Arizonans will now have 30 days to submit public comment on the draft congressional maps before the commission proceeds with final approvals. The Arizona Republican Party urges voters to participate in this process.

Should the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission refuse or ignore to come into compliance, the Arizona Republican Party will consider pursuing legal action to force the commission to meet its legal and constitutional obligations.

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