Thread by @lekhashupeck

Here at the #NCGA for the Senate Redistricting Committee meeting - staff are going through the different options for county groupings found with @jcmattingly s program.

Staff says there are 16 possible county groupings for the Senate

The previous image was the first. Here is the second:

This is the third

It sounds like we're cycling through the options in the southeast first?

This is the full cluster list for both houses put together by the Duke group: sites.duke.edu/quantifyingger…

I'm not going to document all of these - they're out there in the document I linked already. I'll continue to post about anything else substantive that comes up.

Sen. Blue asks what the precise criteria were that were used in creating the county groupings. He brings up the requirement to draw VRA districts first and asks whether that was taken into account.

Staff member Churchill reads the Duke report which says that they did not take into account the VRA.

Blue says that if they did not do the required VRA analysis, which Stephenson says must be done first, these county clusters are not actually in compliance with Stephenson.

Blue is talking through the history of VRA litigation in North Carolina - referencing the fact that Stephenson acknowledged that state law doesn’t trump federal law - thus VRA districts must come first

Blue asks if we can draw constitutional maps if we do get meet that requirement.

Hise says he believes that the VRA requirements can be met under these clusters.

Blue asks how you would know you are in compliance with the VRA - what analysis would be done? References Gingles test.

Hise just repeats that he believes VRA compliance is possible under these clusters.

Blue asks if it's Hise's position that we can comply with the VRA without doing the initial analysis required for VRA districts.

Sen. Clark says that S3, 4, and 5 were previously determined to be VRA districts. How do we know that the current clusters will respect the VRA as well?

Asks if staff can give total BVAP numbers for these clusters. Hise says racial data can't be used.

Clark says he needs the data to do the analysis required by Stephenson.

Another senator asks how we can comply with federal law, the VRA, without using racial data.

Hise says that the federal court has said there is noy sufficient evidence of racially polarized voting to justify the drawing of VRA districts.

THIS IS A MASSIVE MISREADING OF THE COVINGTON CASE.

Sen. Marcus asks for a racially polarized voting analysis to be done.

Hise says that did that in Covington and it wasn't accepted by the court so they won't do it again.

Hise says there is no plan to do any such study.

Clark says that Dickinson v. Rucho said that VRA compliance can be a compelling interest for the use of racial data. Hise doesn't answer him.

Blue says that the districts Clark referenced as RPV districts. Explains that those districts were packed with Black voters in 2011. He says that the jurisprudence says that you have to find certain evidence before deconstructing those districts.

Either way you have to do the racially polarized voting analysis (RPV) to know whether you are allowed to legally deconstruct these districts or preserve them.

(IMHO Hise is operating on a very dumb reading of the current law on racial gerrymandering but what do I know)

Hise says they committee is open to considering any RPV analysis but none had been provided.

Clark asks whether additional clusters can be introduced as long as they are compliant with Stephenson.

Hise says that any cluster map would need a larger number of smaller county clusters to be considered.

Sen. Nickel asks whether they can get total population for all of the different cluster options. Staff says yes.

Sen. Marcus asks for the public to have time to look at and respond to the cluster maps and also for hearings after proposed maps.

Hise says this meeting is to announce the beginning of the drawing process.

There are currently four computer stations set up in the room for members to use to draw maps starting tomorrow morning.

It seems like maps can be drawn under any of the 16 clusters that are considered optimal.

Hise says the Senate committee will handle Senate maps and the House will do house maps as traditional.

It seems like this is what the live stream will look like.

Four stations going simultaneously - so 33% more confusing than 2019. Staff seems to be saying audio will be available from the stations which was a major complaint before.

Apparently the stations are labeled but the labels are toward the legislators not the public 🙄

They're also tiny pieces of paper so not even readable for me.

The room will be open 9-5 Monday through Friday for all legislators to use the stations. Hise says only maps drawn here will be considered by the committee. Mentions that they could possibly open the rooms on weekends as well if needed.

Nickel asks if there will be a vote on clusters - Hise says members can use any of the compliant cluster maps.

With that Hise ends they meeting - drawing starts tomorrow.