Group makes 2nd bid to have voters alter Nevada redistricting process

CARSON CITY — Fair Maps Nevada, a betterment radical pressing to alteration however the authorities conducts its once-a-decade rewrite of authorities and national legislative districts, volition effort again to enactment the substance earlier voters adjacent twelvemonth aft its 2020 effort fell acold short.

The radical filed paperwork past week for a caller ballot inaugural successful 2022 to amend the authorities Constitution and acceptable up an autarkic committee to grip redistricting, taking the work distant from the Legislature. State lawmakers, gathering successful a five-day peculiar league successful November, approved caller territory maps that critics said favored Democrats who power the Legislature and clasp the governor’s office.

The caller inaugural is astir identical to its predecessor, with connection fine-tuned successful effect to legal challenges brought against the 2020 version. The COVID-19 pandemic yet waylaid that effort, with organizers capable to stitchery lone 12,000 of the astir 100,000 signatures needed to enactment the measurement connected the ballot successful spite of receiving a court-approved two-month extension.

At the time, Fair Maps person Sondra Cosgrove, a past prof astatine the College of Southern Nevada, vowed that the radical would resurrect the effort successful 2021. According to its filing with the Secretary of State’s office, the radical seeks to “amend the Nevada Constitution to extremity the partisan signifier of gerrymandering by establishing a bipartisan autarkic Redistricting Commission to oversee the mapping of just and competitory electoral districts.”

Under the Fair Maps plan, the projected committee would person 7 members, 4 appointed by legislative leaders of some parties successful the Assembly and Senate who past would name 3 different nonpartisan members. The unaffiliated members could not beryllium lobbyists, partisan candidates oregon adjacent relatives of either.

For the inaugural to triumph a spot connected the ballot successful 2022, petitioners would person to stitchery astir 141,000 signatures statewide, somewhat much than 35,000 successful each of the state’s 4 legislature districts.

Redistricing occurs each 10 years based connected the decennial nationalist census. Fifteen states usage autarkic commissions to redraw authorities legislative districts and 10 usage them to gully legislature districts, with others utilizing them successful advisory oregon backup capacity, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A court-appointed sheet redrew Nevada’s districts successful 2011 aft then-Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed the Legislature’s redistricting plans and declined to telephone lawmakers backmost into peculiar league to effort again.

Contact Capital Bureau newsman Bill Dentzer astatine bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews connected Twitter.