A State appointed Redistricting Committee will meet in Orlando on July 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and again from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Bob Carr Auditorium, to discuss redistricting based on the new Census data.
State Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) is urging Orange County and Metro Orlando area residents to attend the upcoming Redistricting Committee Meeting on July 27, to make sure that your voices are heard regarding how minority communities should be represented as the lines are drawn to determine Legislative and Congressional districts for the next decade. (See basics on what is redistricting below)
“Our community will not have this opportunity for another ten years,” Thompson said in a statement. “We cannot afford to have others make redistricting decisions that affect us without our input.”
DATE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
TIME:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 6.00 to 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION:Â Â Â Â Â Â The Bob Carr Performing Arts Center
401 West Livingston Street
Orlando, Florida 32801
Free Parking will be available in PARKING LOT 1. See you there!
Redistricting 101 from Rep. Geraldine Thompson
WHAT IS REDISTRICTING?
Redistricting is the process of redrawing legislative lines, defining the districts from which people are elected to public office – from cities and school boards to state officials and congressional representatives. Redistricting takes place after the census is completed every 10 years.
IS REDISTRICTING DIFFERENT FROM REAPPORTIONMENT?
Technically yes; but as a practical matter no. Reapportionment in its most narrow, technical sense refers to the allocation of representatives to previously established voting areas, as when Congress allocates, or “apportions,” seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the terms reapportionment and redistricting are generally used interchangeably and refer to the entire process.
WHY DO DISTRICT LINES NEED TO BE REDRAWN?
The U.S. Constitution and the federal courts require it. It’s also the fair and equitable thing to do. Historically, many states did not redistrict to reflect shifts and growth in their populations. As a consequence, the voting power of residents of heavily populated areas was often significantly diluted. In Georgia statewide contests, for example, a vote in 45 sparsely populated rural counties had 45 times the weight of a vote in urban Fulton County. The voters from the 103 smallest counties in the state, which had only 22 percent of the population, also elected a majority of the members of the house.
 WHO DRAWS THE LINES?
In most states, the state legislature is responsible for drawing district lines. However, 13 states (Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington) use special redistricting commissions to draw state legislative districts. Six of these states (Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, Washington) also use a board or commission to draw congressional plans, while seven states (Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas) use an advisory or remedial commission in the event the legislature is unable to pass new plans. Iowa is different from all other states in that district plans are developed by nonpartisan legislative staff with limited criteria for developing plans.
In some states, Georgia, for example, historic problems with drawing maps that fairly represented the current population have placed them under a judicial watch, which many times has required a court intervention for map drawing.
