US House Redistricting: Connecticut

[Torie]

It's going to the courts anyway.

To be drawn by five Dem judges.

[Torie]

So what would a fair court draw, that is the question. Then we can measure what they do draw against that. What really interests me is just hard it is for both sides of the ledger to agree on what is a fair map, even if presumably acting in good faith. That has been my experience on this very site in fact, which is kind of sobering. If we can't do it here, where can it be done?

[Torie]

So what would a fair court draw, that is the question. Then we can measure what they do draw against that. What really interests me is just hard it is for both sides of the ledger to agree on what is a fair map, even if presumably acting in good faith. That has been my experience on this very site in fact, which is kind of sobering. If we can't do it here, where can it be done?

I'll offer my fair solution, though I'm sure there will be objectors.

The goals for my fair map are as follows.
Maintain the core area of the current districts.
Have no more than one town split between any two districts.
Improve compactness in the boundary between CD 1 and 5.

The following map does the above, with shading to show the areas changed.
As drawn the maximum deviation is 49 persons, and exact equality would only require shifts within the existing split towns. The shift would allow the small tentacle of CD 3 in Southbury to be smoothed.

I agree that you have the right approach, although existing lines to the extent a previous gerrymander should be ignored. You have one little spike there of CN-03 towards NE towards Hartford impinging a new county, that was there before, true. But it will need to be justified on its merits. A state court is not constrained by the "least change" rule of federal courts, when stepping in to draw a map a dysfunctional state legislature, or commission, could not draw. To me, shape and such are more important than avoiding one municipal split. As to counties in Connecticut, do they really matter?  Is there such a thing as county government?

[Torie]

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/6064fb4d133040ff9cd79e35ed888d78/CT--Connecticut-Redistricting/

Connecticut's State Supreme Court says it plans to appoint a special master to help settle the new boundaries for the state's five congressional districts.


GOP is very happy as it increases the chances of a GOP friendly congressional district.

As it turns out, not so. Court instructs special master to preserve current districts.

It's a Dem controlled court no?  Just why a state court would carry on with a gross gerrymander escapes me, absent partisan bias. That means the Dem gerry will carry on essentially forever basically, since the Pubs are unlikely to control the trifecta ever in Connecticut. Sad.

[Torie]

The existing map, which the Democratic map is based on, was a bipartisan agreement, not a Democratic gerrymander. It's almost impossible for one party to gerrymander Connecticut since a 2/3ds majority is required to pass a map. And it's not the Democrats' fault the Republicans are slipping in western Connecticut.

I stand corrected. I think the existing map is ugly, and assumed it was a gerry. Apparently it was a bipartisan gerry. My bad. Sorry.

[Torie]

Is the horrible boundary between One and Five really necessary?

That is what happens with least change maps, where the prior map was itself a mess. I forget whether the prior map was a Dem gerry, or a compromise map, or whatever, but one thing it was, and is, not, is a good government map.