Florida: First redistricting maps tend to favor Republicans

[seafan]

Source: St. Petersburg Times

TALLAHASSEE — Despite creating political maps using no political data, two redistricting proposals by Florida's Republican-led Senate favor Republicans, consolidate voters in Democratic districts and compress minority seats, a Times/Herald analysis shows.

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The maps are the first in a series of redistricting proposals to be debated by lawmakers in January and include many of the sprawling districts that voters thought they were eliminating when they voted for the so-called Fair Districts amendments on the November 2010 ballot. The reason, said Gaetz, is the need to give top priority to protecting existing minority districts even if "the geometry is far from pretty."

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The analysis shows that of the 27 congressional districts, 14 of them strongly favor Republicans and favored both John McCain in the 2008 presidential race and Rick Scott in the 2010 race for governor. Another 10 congressional districts strongly favor Democrats and supported Barack Obama for president and Alex Sink for governor.

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The congressional map also strengthens Republican districts by using a technique established 20 years ago by packing Democrats into black majority districts, making the surrounding districts more Republican.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/first-redistricting-maps-tend-to-favor-republicans/1204061

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Despite the fact that there are half a million more registered Democrats than Republicans in Florida, it cannot be clearer that this state has been subjected to manipulated representation, solidifying minority Republican control over state government since the mid-1990s.


This calculatedly unfair representation has been catastrophically damaging to the lives of the people of Florida. And it must be stopped.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 4.5 million to 4 million in registration, but Nelson is the only Democrat in statewide elected office. The GOP holds 19 of 25 U.S. House seats, and holds two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. The party has targeted Nelson for defeat next year in its drive to take over the Senate.

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[Roland99]

1. Still boggles the mind why county lines or combinations of zip codes can't be used

[seafan]

3. 67 counties. 27 voting districts. Two and a half counties per district. 'Bad for GOP' is why.

Or, superimpose a 27-block grid over the state map.

But this wouldn't consolidate Republican power, you see.


As noted by a St. Pete Times journalist earlier this week, what the Republicans are after is complete and total IED.


Improvised Electoral Destruction.

[SixthSense]

2. These districts ought to be drawn by objective means

For example, if you were to say that the fairest way to draw districts was to make them geographically compact, you could put the geography and population distribution of the state into a database and come out with what would be mathematically correct, geographically compact, and most importantly politically agnostic districts. This would also help keep local and regional constituencies together to accurately reflect in the districting how it was intended to be - keeping communities intact as political units rather than arbitrarily (or maliciously!) running district lines right down the center of town.

[Loge23]

4. Well, there's a surprise!

Little Ricky has got into the crayons again.