Redistricting Watch: Prop 77 Back On

I should have known, it being California and all, that there would be another chapter in Governor Schwarzenegger's effort to put redistricting reform on the ballot in this fall's special election. After a lower court ruled earlier in the week that the Gov's proposal - aka Prop 77 - be stricken from the November ballot on technical grounds (discussed here), the state Supreme Court late Friday reinstated the measure, Reuters reports.

In a 4-2 decision, the state's highest court ruled that several changes in the proposal between when voters signed petitions to put it on the ballot and when it was officially submitted were not enough to toss the measure from the ballot, because the changes weren't so substantive as to mislead those who signed the petitions. Said the court's decision "We conclude that it would not be appropriate to deny the electorate the opportunity to vote on Proposition 77 at the special election to held on November 8, 2005, on the basis of such discrepancies."

Governor Schwarzenegger was pleased with the decision, saying in a statement "Close to 1 million Californians signed petitions demanding redistricting reform and today, their voices have been heard. They all understand that it is a blatant conflict of interest to have politicians draw the boundaries of the districts in which they run. Not a single congressional or legislative seat changed parties in last year's elections. That is not real democracy."

The Associated Press is also running a story on this development.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I have some minor issues with the proposal submitted by the governor; I particularly disagree with a provision which would allow a redistricting during the middle of this decade rather than waiting until the next census. That said, I think on the whole Prop 77 is a decent plan, and I'll take it over the status quo. A big win for Schwarzenegger's "year of reform," and hopefully in the long run a bit win for the voters of California.

Previous Redistricting Watch posts:
- "Updates from the States" (8/10)
- "Updates on Several Fronts" (7/28)
- "Cosponsors Update" (7/22)
- "How Exactly do you Gerrymander a Birthday Cake?" (7/20)
- "Happy Birthday Mr. Gerry" (7/19)
- "Federal Authority in Historical Perspective" (7/16)
- "Blue Dogs, on the Scent" (7/12)
- "Cosponsors Update" (7/1)
- "Links, News, and Views" (6/24)
- "Polarization & Collegiality" (6/24)
- "Centrist Action on Redistricting Reform" (6/23)