Arizona: State GOP Prepares for Redistricting — in 2022
The Arizona Republican Party announced Tuesday that it has formed a committee of “experts and stakeholders” to prepare for the next redistricting cycle, slated for 2022.
“Arizona’s political landscape today reflects a flawed process where election districts were drawn up based on a one-sided political agenda and too much secrecy, and I’m taking action now to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” state GOP Chairman Robert Graham said in a statement.
“We are looking for an honest and open process that doesn’t favor one group of voters over another — one that is truly bipartisan and treats voters equally while putting an end to the discrimination against Republicans.”
Arizona featured one of the most protracted, nasty rounds of redistricting of any state last cycle. But operatives from both parties admit that Democrats got the better end of the independent commission-drawn map during the decennial process.
The state revises its congressional borders through an independent commission comprised of two Republicans, two Democrats and one independent.
Last year, the commission produced a map with three tossup House seats — and Democrats swept the trio in November.
Statehouse Republicans impeached the commission’s sole independent member and accused her of furtively aiding Democrats. But the state Supreme Court dismissed accusations of misconduct and the map was upheld.