Archive for redistricting

New court filing: Democrats say Wisconsin redistricting files deleted at “suspicious times”

Doonesbury speaker boehner voter suppression gerrymandering

I’ve been covering the “alleged” corruption and attempts at voter suppression that have “allegedly” been occurring under Governor Scott Walker’s alleged watch, the most recent being: Documents were deleted from WI GOP redistricting computers, per court filing. And before that, WI officials were subpoenaed over missing computers, docs involved in redistricting that benefited Republicans.

You know, the alleged usual. Here’s the alleged latest, via WisPolitics:

According to a new court filing, a forensic investigation of computers GOP lawmakers, their aides and their lawyers used in the redistricting process found some files were deleted just after a federal court ordered three witnesses to turn over documents to the plaintiffs. Other files were deleted one week before the lawmakers’ firm, Michael Best & Friedrich, turned over its redistricting files to Dems after they took control of the state Senate following a recall election. [...]

Yesterday’s filing updated the court on a forensic examination of the computers and noted the cost of the review had now reached $100,000. The plaintiffs asked the court to require the Legislature, its employees and/or its attorneys to cover the costs of the forensics.

Ohhh Scotty, you’ve got some reinventing to do!

lucy you've got some reinventing to do

In other news, Walker won’t push for gun background checks.

“The GOP is hanging on to its old ways thanks to its very skillful management of the vote.”

gerrymandering via Doonesbury

Doonesbury strip by Garry Trudeau

Today’s L.A. Times letters to the editor, because our voices matter:

Re “The GOP’s ‘autopsy,’” Opinion, March 20

Doyle McManus examines the GOP’s problems as it relates to winning the 2016 presidential election. The real problem is not the message but simply the math.

The GOP is hanging on to its old ways thanks to its very skillful management of the vote. Republicans control the House even though they received fewer votes in 2012 than the Democrats. Similarly, they control several state houses thanks to gerrymandered districts. They effectively control the Senate through the filibuster.

But this approach, which ghettoizes the opposition and puts many districts in the GOP column by a few percentage points, creates a house of cards. With just a small shift in key districts, it will all come down.

It is time to change the policies and not just the rhetoric. Republicans cannot maintain their voting advantage forever.

Glen Jansma

Newport Beach

***

With the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq this week, I can only hope that the Republican Party remains divided for a long time to come.

It was this party that took us into war with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, had no weapons of mass destruction and where more than 4,000 American lives would end up being lost. And for what? Is America any safer?

Republicans should hang their heads in shame this week, and I hope that their embracing of the “tea party” leads to the GOP’s demise for once and for all.

Scott W. Hughes

Westlake Village

Documents were deleted from WI GOP redistricting computers, per court filing

tweet weigel gop redistricting gerrymander

Previously I posted WI officials subpoenaed over missing computers, docs involved in redistricting that benefited Republicans:

The subpoenas are being used to force GOP officials to reveal where the mystery computers, external hard drives, discs and documents are located, and the groups who are making these demands want the answers under oath.

It’s been months and months, but the state of Wisconsin never told the plaintiffs, who want to search said computers, where the computers were, and made every effort to block them from finding out, so now the Dems are playing hardball. They want those documents, and they want them now.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin legislature. Wisconsin’s governor is the one and only GOP “rising star” Scott Walker. Of course, Walker, along with the legislature, approved redistricting maps that benefited their party

It isn’t clear who deleted these documents, but– call me crazy– I’m guessing it wasn’t a Democrat.

Via JSOnline:

Madison - Documents were deleted from state redistricting computers last year even after a lawyer for the Legislature told lawmakers’ aides to preserve all records on the computers, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court.

Nine hard drives were recently given to groups suing the state because of questions about whether legislators and their attorneys had turned over all the documents they had been ordered to provide. One of the nine hard drives was unreadable and the outside of it was dented and scratched, which suggested its metal housing had been removed, according to affidavits in the case.

In addition, some of the hard drives had a program installed on them that could remove electronic data and hide the fact that files had been deleted, according to the filing. So far, however, a computer expert has not been able to determine if the program was actually used.

JSOnline goes on to say that a “panel of federal judges ruled last year that two Assembly maps on Milwaukee’s south side violated the voting rights of Latinos. The court put in place new maps for those districts but not others, meaning the Republican-friendly maps were largely preserved.”

And the fun never ends under Scott Walker’s watch. Stay tuned.

Doonesbury speaker boehner voter suppression gerrymandering

WI officials subpoenaed over missing computers, docs involved in redistricting that benefited Republicans

you've been served

Rev up your motors, Wisconsin, you’ve got missing computers, subpoenaed Republicans, and redistricting issues to contend with. The subpoenas are being used to force GOP officials to reveal where the mystery computers, external hard drives, discs and documents are located, and the groups who are making these demands want the answers under oath.

It’s been months and months, but the state of Wisconsin never told the plaintiffs, who want to search said computers, where the computers were, and made every effort to block them from finding out, so now the Dems are playing hardball. They want those documents, and they want them now.

The fun never ends in Scott Walker’s state…

Via JSOnline:

Groups involved in a long-simmering legal fight with Republicans have subpoenaed Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and other officials in an attempt to track down computers they want to search.

The move came a week after a panel of three federal judges ordered that two sides and the state quickly resolve their differences. The groups sued the state in 2011 over election maps drawn by Republicans, but for months the case has focused on documents that were improperly withheld from the plaintiffs.

For five months, the plaintiffs have been seeking to forensically search computers used for redistricting to find out why they did not receive documents that were supposed to be turned over to them and to learn if any other records were improperly withheld. So far, they have not been able to learn where the state computers are located, let alone search them.

The groups involved are asking why these records were withheld, and exactly how many records were there? Republican Governor Walker, along with the Republican-controlled legislature, approved redistricting maps that benefited their party in a big way. So what else is new, right? Especially in light of Scott Walker’s fascination with the new RNC-backed plan to rig blue state electoral votes in favor of future GOP presidential candidates.

Democratic and immigrant rights groups sued, and in 2012 a three-(federal) judge panel ruled that the way two districts were drawn had violated Latinos’ voting rights, so they made some changes.

But lawyers for the legislature did what they could to obstruct the release of documents and were fined. After that, more documents were discovered, and the plaintiffs asked for permission to search three state computers that were used to draw the maps. GOP anti-union Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who survived a recall election, is one of those who could be subpoenaed.

Remember him?

Stay tuned.

Va. Senate districts redrawn. Dem. Senator: “It’s an underhanded sneak attack.” Gov. McDonnell condemns the move.

dirty tricks smaller

Oh those wacky, zany Republicans and their laughable self-righteous, “we’re the moral ones” ‘tude… as they sneak around and redraw legislative districts while their fellow senators are at events like, you know, presidential inaugurations.

Via TPM, we see that even GOP Gov. Bob”Ultrasound” McDonnell “condemned his own party’s political gamesmanship,” although he hasn’t said yet if he would veto this plan:

Republicans took advantage of the absence of a Democratic state senator (and civil rights leader) to push their surprise legislative redistricting through what is usually an evenly divided state Senate. State Sen. Henry Marsh’s (D) trip to the inauguration of President Obama briefly made the Senate makeup 20-19 in favor of the GOP, letting Republicans launch their surprise attack.

Per Roanoke.com, the changes, which wouldn’t kick in until the 2015 Senate elections, also create a new black majority district in Southside Virginia:

The move blindsided Senate Democrats and reopened partisan wounds inflicted last year, when Republicans used Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling’s tie-breaking vote to seize working control of the evenly divided chamber.

Democrat John Edwards of Roanoke said, “It’s an underhanded sneak attack.”

Republicans rely on dirty tricks more and more because they have no other way to win elections or legislative votes. If only their ideas had merit, if only they weren’t so consumed with power grabs, maybe something could actually be accomplished. And maybe they could even earn a little trust.

Maybe.

Republican Rep. David Dreier decides against seeking reelection

Another golden opportunity for the D’s, he was redistricted into a mostly Hispanic area that went overwhelmingly for PBO.

Veteran Rep. David Dreier, one of California’s most influential Republicans in Congress, announced Wednesday that he won’t be running for reelection, perhaps the biggest casualty of the state’s first-ever citizens-drawn political map, which cast him into a politically inhospitable district.

Dreier is the sixth California House member to announce his retirement when his term expires, further shaking up a delegation that has built up clout on Capitol Hill because of its stability over the years.

Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee, made the announcement on the House floor, citing Congress’ “abysmally low approval rating.”

“The American people are asking for change in Congress,” he said.

Dreier’s retirement is not a surprise, given the challenges he faced in winning reelection in a redrawn district.

Wisconsin lawmakers were made to pledge secrecy over redistricting. “Ignore the public comments.”

Via the pdf of the complaint. Sorry, no link. Sent to me via email.

It’s a veritable secrecy fest! Everyone grab your Corruption Banjos and play along! Via JSOnline:

Madison - As legislative leaders secretly developed new election maps last year to strengthen their majority, Republican lawmakers were told to ignore public comments and instead focus on what was said in private strategy sessions, according to a GOP memo that became public Monday.

Other newly released documents also show almost all Republican lawmakers signed legal agreements promising not to discuss the new maps while they were being developed.

GOP lawmakers fought releasing these new documents and testifying about the maps in a pending court case but relented after a panel of three federal judges based in Milwaukee last month found they had filed frivolous motions in trying to shield the information from the public.

Included in the documents released Monday was a set of talking points that stressed that those who discussed the maps could eventually be called as a witness in a court case.

Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments,” the talking points also say.

“Ignore the public comments.” ‘Nuff said.

Go Wisconsin GOP! You’re proving, once again, why it was an egregious mistake to elect any of you.

Please go here for the whole story. And here for some insights from Blogging Blue.