US House Redistricting: California

[krazen1211]

This comes to mind.


the supreme court should invent a term. A VRA district has to be one where hispanics make up a majority of REGISTERED VOTERS. In case a hack like freepcrusher starts drawing the maps, it can stop them from enacting them.

Is he even using the VRA to justify his districts? Just because a district is 52% Hispanic doesn't necessarily mean it is a VRA district, or that it has to be one.

 Really trying to understand what your problem is here. Someone can't draw a 40% Black or 50% Hispanic district because it hurts your party? You're such a little whiner.

Actually, I just cut and pasted one of his posts.

I just marvel at the sheer inconsistency. It's really funny to see California liberal whites cry about the lack of Texas Hispanic districts when California has many more seats, and less actual Hispanic representation in Congress.

That's how one can identify partisan hack Latino organizations that are really just fronts for the Democratic Party.

[Sbane]

DISTRICT 26 Open
52.3% Hispanic
Obviously a safe dem. Does anyone know of any good democrats in the Legislature that could run here?

DISTRICT 25 Howard McKeon (R-Santa Clarita)
45.5% White
34.9% Hispanic
9.4% Black
6.9% Asian
2.9% Other
.3% Native
This district is probably an R+3 or something like that. He should be alright for now, but he may retire soon. This district could conceivably go dem when he does.

How much of Santa Clarita is in the 26th?

Also places like Palmdale and Lancaster might have a lot of Hispanics and Blacks, but the area overall votes quite similarly to the Inland Empire. Whites are strongly Republican there. I doubt the 25th as you have drawn it will go Democrat, barring a weak Republican candidate. And even then it would probably swing back in a midterm election.

[Sbane]

This comes to mind.


the supreme court should invent a term. A VRA district has to be one where hispanics make up a majority of REGISTERED VOTERS. In case a hack like freepcrusher starts drawing the maps, it can stop them from enacting them.

Is he even using the VRA to justify his districts? Just because a district is 52% Hispanic doesn't necessarily mean it is a VRA district, or that it has to be one.

 Really trying to understand what your problem is here. Someone can't draw a 40% Black or 50% Hispanic district because it hurts your party? You're such a little whiner.

Actually, I just cut and pasted one of his posts.

I just marvel at the sheer inconsistency. It's really funny to see California liberal whites cry about the lack of Texas Hispanic districts when California has many more seats, and less actual Hispanic representation in Congress.

That's how one can identify partisan hack Latino organizations that are really just fronts for the Democratic Party.

The VRA has to do with who the voters want, not the race of the candidate.

I of course would like a redistricting commission to draw the map in Texas (and Illinois). I am guessing you don't agree with that?

[Sbane]

krazen didn't specifically say whether he liked the districts or not. I don't see why he would dislike it. I think this map could possibly be a 31 Democrat 22 Republican map.

Yeah, your map definitely doesn't tend to favor any party. It makes more swing districts actually, which is what the result of the redistricting commission will be as well, imo. Not saying they will draw the map exactly as you have drawn it, plus they will have to pay more attention to the VRA and all that, but count on more competitive elections in California in the future.

[freepcrusher]

well regardless, krazen is almost as bad as timothyinmd in his blowhardedness

[Napoleon]

Ventura County should only have two districts.

[krazen1211]

The VRA has to do with who the voters want, not the race of the candidate.

I of course would like a redistricting commission to draw the map in Texas (and Illinois). I am guessing you don't agree with that?

I was referring to exactly that. White liberals in California made sure that Hispanic voters have less opportunities to elect a candidate of their choice and that's why they have so few of 53 districts.

I only believe in consistency. Nothing more or less.

[krazen1211]

well regardless, krazen is almost as bad as timothyinmd in his blowhardedness

Considering that that was your own post, that's the pot calling the pot black.

[DrScholl]

I was referring to exactly that. White liberals in California made sure that Hispanic voters have less opportunities to elect a candidate of their choice and that's why they have so few of 53 districts.

I only believe in consistency. Nothing more or less.

You clearly do not know the makeup of the districts, the VRA is practically maxed out in California, at least by the standards of the 2000 Census. More VRA districts can be created, but it would mean that some Republicans would be out, here it doesn't do much to boost Republicans.

I see many Republicans saying that southern states shouldn't have VRA districts, so there's clear a double standard on the right too.

[phk]

VRA is a form of gerrymandering and should be abolished.

[Napoleon]

VRA is a form of gerrymandering and should be abolished.

It restricts other forms of gerrymandering.

[DrScholl]

Unless there is completely non-biased, commission based redistricting everywhere, the VRA needs to be followed strictly and even with fair districts, it would still need to be enforced some. The VRA is used so much because Republican cannot have safe districts without it packing voters in some places.

[jimrtex]

VRA is a form of gerrymandering and should be abolished.

It restricts other forms of gerrymandering.

LOL

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No he's right, that was the intended purpose. It's misleading to referred to gerrymandered monstrosities of majority-minority seats as "VRA districts", the VRA doesn't mandate such seats, it merely prohibits the diluting and splitting of heavily minority areas that could otherwise constitute a district. Districts like Corrine Brown's weren't being drawn until after 1990 Census.

[Verily]

No he's right, that was the intended purpose. It's misleading to referred to gerrymandered monstrosities of majority-minority seats as "VRA districts", the VRA doesn't mandate such seats, it merely prohibits the diluting and splitting of heavily minority areas that could otherwise constitute a district. Districts like Corrine Brown's weren't being drawn until after 1990 Census.

Corrine Brown's district isn't a VRA district to begin with. It was a convenient way for the Florida Republicans to pack a bunch of Democrats in.

[Sbane]

The VRA has to do with who the voters want, not the race of the candidate.

I of course would like a redistricting commission to draw the map in Texas (and Illinois). I am guessing you don't agree with that?

I was referring to exactly that. White liberals in California made sure that Hispanic voters have less opportunities to elect a candidate of their choice and that's why they have so few of 53 districts.

I only believe in consistency. Nothing more or less.

Alright, you have done it now. Give me concrete examples.

For example, an Asian as well as a Hispanic district could be drawn in the San Jose area. That doesn't mean it will be drawn or it should be drawn. All 3 of those district would vote about the same and would elect the same damn candidates. Racial gerrymandering would be pointless there. As opposed to the central valley where Whites vote about 70% Republican and Hispanics vote about 65% Democrat. It's these sorts of areas the VRA was intended for. 

[Brittain33]

The VRA has to do with who the voters want, not the race of the candidate.

I of course would like a redistricting commission to draw the map in Texas (and Illinois). I am guessing you don't agree with that?

I was referring to exactly that. White liberals in California made sure that Hispanic voters have less opportunities to elect a candidate of their choice and that's why they have so few of 53 districts.

I only believe in consistency. Nothing more or less.

Alright, you have done it now. Give me concrete examples.

The Hispanic majority in the San Fernando Valley was cracked in 2002 order to keep two Anglo Dems in power. One of the rep had a brother in the legislature who made it happen.

None of this justifies the leap from "one legislative insider" to "white liberals," most of whom know nothing about this kind of thing and don't support it, but whatever.

[Sbane]

The VRA has to do with who the voters want, not the race of the candidate.

I of course would like a redistricting commission to draw the map in Texas (and Illinois). I am guessing you don't agree with that?

I was referring to exactly that. White liberals in California made sure that Hispanic voters have less opportunities to elect a candidate of their choice and that's why they have so few of 53 districts.

I only believe in consistency. Nothing more or less.

Alright, you have done it now. Give me concrete examples.

The Hispanic majority in the San Fernando Valley was cracked in 2002 order to keep two Anglo Dems in power. One of the rep had a brother in the legislature who made it happen.

None of this justifies the leap from "one legislative insider" to "white liberals," most of whom know nothing about this kind of thing and don't support it, but whatever.

 Either ways those districts were going to be Democratic since the white areas one of the districts was joined with is the hollywood hills. So like you said, your generic "white liberal" wouldn't have cared at all if a Hispanic district was formed there. Insiders keeping insiders in power. I am shocked.

[krazen1211]

Alright, you have done it now. Give me concrete examples.

For example, an Asian as well as a Hispanic district could be drawn in the San Jose area. That doesn't mean it will be drawn or it should be drawn. All 3 of those district would vote about the same and would elect the same damn candidates. Racial gerrymandering would be pointless there. As opposed to the central valley where Whites vote about 70% Republican and Hispanics vote about 65% Democrat. It's these sorts of areas the VRA was intended for. 

Congressional Districts 27 and 28.

And in primaries, it does matter. You might get the same party winning a general election, but black Democrats have had very little success winning in white liberal districts. The same is true with Hispanic Democrats. Hard to say that they would elect the same damn candidates given the track record.

If you want to use the VRA as a front to create Democratic districts in Republican states, don't be surprised when people in Republican states are irritated when the opposite isn't reciprocated. Just look at Nevada or New Jersey, where the GOP drew a Hispanic plurality district in their plan, and Democrats whined. In New Jersey especially they intentionally cracked up the 1 district that had a majority of Hispanic REGISTERED VOTERS, as it was put.

Yet they expect other states to maximize the number of such seats....

[Linus Van Pelt]

Krazen's line has already been attempted at SCOTUS, which ruled in Growe v. Emison that a majority black legislative district in Minnepolis was not required, on the grounds that one of the Gingles preconditions is that bloc voting by the majority usually defeats the preferred candidate of the minority, and there was no evidence of such bloc voting in Minneapolis.

The case contains the worst possible sentence for anyone hoping for a conservative overturn:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://law.onecle.com/ussc/507/507us25.html

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That's interesting because we have an almost majority black State House district (it probably is majority black now and almost certainly will be after redistricting) and it was roughly the same shape in the 1991 redistricting. It wouldn't be too hard to alter it a bit to get a majority black seat even back then. But I don't think most would want it, our House districts are based around neighborhoods and all and people care far more about that than race and wouldn't want weird tendrils and all that. I'm surprised it was ever controversial or an issue even in 1991.

[Brittain33]

Some maps are coming out. Not sure what these "visualizations" are for.

http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/meeting_handouts.html

Zipped PDF Files for CD Region I, II, III, and IV Visualizations (zip, 7.3MB, June 2, 2011)

[JohnnyLongtorso]

They're the starting point for the new maps.

[Sbane]

That OC map looks a little ridiculous... Are any of them VAP majority Hispanic?

[krazen1211]

That looks really tough for Dreier, Issa, Loretta Sanchez, and Costa.

Why is Fresno still carved up?