The success of two measures to reform legislative

reapportionment in November’s election may

presage a shift to less partisan influence on the
drawing of electoral maps. In November, a coalition
of California election-reform groups, civil
rights nonprofits, and former officials succeeded in
putting Proposition 20 on the ballot, and 61 percent
of voters approved the measure. The proposition
directed the state to take control of legislative reapportionment
or redistricting for congressional
seats from the state legislature and turn it over to
the Citizens Redistricting Commission. In Florida,
voters approved restrictions on the redistricting
process, requiring that districts meet strict demographic
and geographic requirements.
Since the early years of the nation, political
parties have actively participated in redistricting, or
the more technical term, “border delimitation.” In
1964, the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case
Wesberry v. Sanders that all congressional districts
must contain an equal number of persons. This
decision established the “one person, one vote”
requirement. Despite the Supreme Court’s efforts,
political parties continued to influence the process
mainly through control of the state legislatures
and governorships. The California and Florida
measures intend to reduce partisan influence,
specifically to stop the practice of gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering strategies involve one of two
tactics. One is to put all voters of a particular type
into a single district and limit their influence on
other districts. Another is to divide these voters
among several districts to dilute their influence.