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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: fred woodall who wrote (18262)	12/1/2003 1:07:51 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793671

Since the Colorado Constitution called for one redistricting per census, this may not hold for all states. Welcome aboard, Fred! December 1, 2003 Colorado Court Says Redistricting Is Unconstitutional By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:53 a.m. ET DENVER (AP) -- In a decision with national implications, the Colorado Supreme Court threw out the state's new congressional districts Monday saying the GOP-led Legislature redrew the maps in violation of the state constitution. The General Assembly is required to redraw the maps only after each Census and before the ensuing general election -- not at any other time, the court said in a closely watched 5-2 decision that followed party lines. A similar court battle is being waged in Texas. Under the ruling, Colorado's seven congressional districts revert to boundaries drawn up by a Denver judge last year after lawmakers failed to agree. The issue before the court was whether the redistricting map pushed through the Legislature by Republicans this year was illegal. Colorado's constitution calls for redistricting only once a decade and Democrats contended that task was completed by the judge. Republicans said the map drawn by the judge was temporary and the law requires redistricting work to be done by the Legislature. The court rejected that argument, saying: ``Because the General Assembly failed to redistrict during this constitutional window, it relinquished its authority to redistrict until after the 2010 census. There is no language empowering the General Assembly to redistrict more frequently or at any other time.'' The justices chastised the lawmakers for claiming they should be able to redraw the maps ``two, or even 10 times in a single decade.'' ``Federal law grants the states the authority to redistrict, and federal law defines and limits this power. Our state constitution cannot change these federal requirements.'' Republican Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, who defended the case, will decide later whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, a spokeswoman said. Republicans now hold five of the state's seven congressional seats. Democrats hope to pick up two of those seats if they win the court fight. Democrats need to gain 12 seats to take control of the 435-member House, an uphill fight in view of state-by-state redistricting in 2001. A GOP redistricting plan in Texas could add to the GOP majority in Washington, though that plan is also being challenged in court. ``We're back to the old maps. This is a blow to Republicans nationally,'' said Tom Downey, attorney for the state Democratic Party. He said the GOP redistricting effort was part of a national plan led by the White House. Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington, said the battle isn't over because a similar challenge to the Colorado districts is pending in federal court in Denver. The federal lawsuit, filed by Democrats, was put on hold pending the Colorado Supreme Court ruling. Besides issues cited in the state case, it claims the Republican map violates federal equal protection provisions and disenfranchises voters. The state justices suggested the federal case won't resolve the dispute because it hinges on provisions in the Colorado Constitution. Political experts say if the redistricting plans in Colorado and Texas are allowed to stand it could lead to similar changes nationwide. Kori Bernards, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the committee hopes the Texas judiciary will follow the lead of the Colorado court. ``This is great news for Coloradans and for Americans who believe in the democratic process. It was clearly illegal,'' she said. The battle over the redistricting plan in Texas took months to resolve, as Democratic legislators twice held it up by boycotting legislative sessions. Texas House Democrats broke a quorum in their chamber, killing the redistricting effort, when they fled to Ardmore, Okla., in May. Senate Democrats fled to Albuquerque, N.M., for the full second special legislative session. The Senate Democrats returned reluctantly after one of their group decided to return to Texas. Republicans have said they could pick up as many as six additional seats in Texas' 32-member delegation, which is ruled 17-15 by Democrats. Democrats said the map would add seven Republicans. nytimes.com