States Could Reform Redistricting With Independent Nonpartisan Commissions

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• Honest redistricting - If Senate won't keep promise, Cuomo must be ready to veto (By News Editorial Board, Buffalo News) The clock is running out. An independent commission needs to be in place to develop draft lines by the start of next year in order to have an impact.
• Republicans should keep pledge on redistricting effort - Republicans shouldn't back off election promise (EDITORIAL Democrat and Chronicle) Apparently Republicans, including Sens. Michael Nozzolio, Jim Alesi, Joe Robach and George Maziarz, are hoping that voters with short memories will forget the campaign pledges. Worse, they must think voters who bought their reform spiel are fools. But now is the time to depoliticize redistricting. New York only gets a chance to redraw district lines every 10 years based on the census. But Senate Republicans want to drag out the process, making it too late to be in place for next year's redistricting process.
• North Carolina wants to be like Iowa (by Jason Clayworth, Des Moines Register) Iowa’s redistricting system, which was first used in 1981, is a method where the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency propose boundaries based strictly upon the latest U.S. Census Bureau population estimates without political considerations.