Governor Sandoval Vetoes Democratic Redistricting Plan
CARSON CITY – Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has vetoed the Democratic redistricting plan for new Congressional, state Senate and Assembly districts.
Sandoval, in a veto statement issued today, said that the Democratic plan violated the federal Voting Rights Act, which governs how ethnic minorities should be treated when the boundaries of political districts are drawn, and was drawn for the partisan gain of Democrats.
The veto represents the first rejection of proposed maps, which are drawn according to 2010 Census data.
If the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor cannot reach a compromise, the drawing of political districts become a matter for the courts to decide. Anticipating a veto, Democrats have another redistricting bill that they can amend and send back to the governor.
At stake is the political representation of Nevada’s Hispanic community. Sandoval charged that the Democratic plan would dilute the Latino vote.
“Of the four Congressional seats it establishes, not one contains a Hispanic majority—though such a district can clearly and simply be drawn, consistent with traditional redistricting principles,” Sandoval’s statement read.
A Republican plan that did not receive a vote created a congressional district with a 50.7 percent total Hispanic population.
The governor also said the Democratic plan would not “afford Hispanics an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choosing.”
In an earlier speech on the Assembly floor, Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas, asked whether this logic implied that only a Hispanic majority could elect a Hispanic candidate.
“Nevada has proven that Hispanic and other minority candidates can and have been elected in minority influence districts,” she said.
Sandoval, Nevada’s first Hispanic governor, was himself elected with a majority of the white vote while losing the Hispanic vote.
In a Republican redistricting plan, Republicans created eight Hispanic-majority seats in the Assembly, four in the Senate and one in Congress.
Democrats spread Hispanic voters throughout more districts, creating two Senate, three Assembly and no congressional districts with a majority Hispanic population
Democrats responded to the veto and called the assertions that their party violated the Voting Rights Act “legally absurd.”
“It is nothing but a smokescreen in an attempt to obscure the partisan ambitions of a party that has a pathetic record on issues of minority rights,” the Democrats said in a statement released following the veto.
Some have said that partisan politics are behind the rhetoric.
During the 2010 election, Hispanics overwhelming voted for Democratic candidate Rory Reid in the gubernatorial race and incumbent Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Senate race.
A Hispanic population diffused over many districts should then create more Democratic-leaning districts while a Hispanic population concentrated in one district should create more Republican-leaning districts.
Hispanics now comprise 26 percent of Nevada’s population and are a voter bloc that both parties cannot ignore.
One in seven eligible voters in Nevada are Latinos, the sixth-largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Sandoval also said the Democratic plan seemed to benefit Democratic candidates politically.
“At its core, this bill creates districts that were drawn exclusively for political gain,” he said.
In earlier statements, Republicans had contended that Democrats had not drawn enough competitive districts and had created too many Democratic-leaning districts.
Republican incumbent Rep. Joe Heck would also lose a Republican majority in his congressional district under the Democratic proposal.
Democrats would have a voter registration advantage in three of Nevada’s four congressional districts in their proposal. Republicans would create a 2-2 split.
The Democratic proposal promises a 30 – 12 Democratic split in the Assembly and a 14 – 7 advantage in the Senate, according to voters registered Democratic and Republican in each proposed district.
The Republican proposal reflects a 26 – 16 Democratic advantage in the Assembly, which is the current ratio in the Assembly. The Republican plan for the state Senate would create 14 seats with more voters registered as Democrats and seven seats with a Republican voter advantage.
The Legislature is required to redraw the boundaries of political districts every 10 years based on changes in population released through the U.S. Census. Nevada earned a fourth congressional district because of rapid population growth between 2001 and 2010.
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