HUG, Circuit Judge: Plaintiffs, residents of California qualified and duly registered to vote in the State, filed suit in the district court for the Eastern District of California on March 30, 1993, challenging California's 1992 redistricting plan, adopted by the State in Wilson v. Eu, 1 Cal.4th 707, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 823 P.2d 545 (1992). Plaintiffs raised three causes of action challenging the constitutionality of the redistricting plan.
Indeed, as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to fairly consider challenges to a reapportionment scheme without according deference to the Legislature. The decision in Wilson v. Eu (1992) 1 Cal.4th 707 [ 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 823 P.2d 545], demonstrates the inherent difficulty and necessary give and take that goes into developing a reapportionment plan. Quoting its opinion in Legislature v. Reinecke (1973) 10 Cal.3d 396, 403, the Supreme Court noted that redrawing specific district lines to "`achieve possibly more reasonable results'" runs the "`serious risk of creating undesirable side effects'" that could not be foreseen from a judicial perspective.
We first briefly describe the structure and workings of the Citizens Redistricting Commission. Prior to 2008, redistricting in California was performed by the Legislature subject to the veto power of the Governor—or by the courts, when the Legislature and Governor could not agree. (See, e.g., Legislature v. Reinecke (1973) 10 Cal.3d 396, 110 Cal.Rptr. 718, 516 P.2d 6; Wilson v. Eu (1992) 1 Cal.4th 707, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 823 P.2d 545.) The electorate, however, dramatically changed the process by ballot measures in 2008 and 2010.
Accordingly, the court must redraw the senate districts to preserve the equal protection and equal voting rights of the citizens. See Wilson v. Eu, 823 P.2d 545, 547 (Cal. 1992). I. Background and Procedural History
At these hearings, they received oral and written presentations from a wide variety of organizations and individuals, as well as 22 proposed plans. Wilson v. Eu, 1 Cal.4th 707, 742, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 395, 823 P.2d 545 (1992) (Wilson III). The Masters were instructed to consider the Voting Rights Act implications of their proposals.
California requires that the districts in each of these categories be compact and contiguous, that they respect as much as possible the integrity of the boundary lines of political subdivisions such as cities and counties, and that they preserve other local communities of interest. CAL. CONST. Art. XXI, § 1; Wilson v. Eu, 823 P.2d 545, 552-53 (Cal. 1992). Over the course of the summer of 2001, the legislature conducted public hearings throughout the state at which various public interest groups and others articulated general concerns regarding the redistricting process, and proposed specific changes to the district lines that had been drawn after the 1990 census.
The "community of interests" has been defined by one court by inquiring whether the minority groups within the proposed districts would have the ability to "relate to each other and their representatives", and whether the representatives would have the ability "to relate effectively to their constituency". Wilson v. Eu, 1 Cal.4th 707, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 823 P.2d 545, 553 (1992). (B) Political cohesion/bloc voting.
t. II § 17(d); Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 17, § 1909(a), (f); Wash. Rev.Code § 44.05.130. 17. Compare In re Reapportionment of Colo. Gen. Assembly, No. 11SA282, 2011 WL 5830123, ––– P.3d –––– (Colo. Nov. 15, 2011) (invalid); Twin Falls Cnty. v. Idaho Comm'n on Redistricting, No. 39373, 2012 WL 130416, 152 Idaho 346, 271 P.3d 1202 (Idaho Jan. 18, 2012) (invalid); Schrage v. State Bd. of Elections, 88 Ill.2d 87, 58 Ill.Dec. 451, 430 N.E.2d 483 (1981) (invalid); In re Legislative Districting of Gen. Assembly, 193 N.W.2d 784 (Iowa 1972) (invalid); In re Legislative Districting of the State, 370 Md. 312, 805 A.2d 292 (2002) (invalid); Hartung v. Bradbury, 332 Or. 570, 33 P.3d 972 (2001) (invalid); Holt v.2011 Legislative Reapportionment Comm'n, No. 7 MM 2012, 2012 WL 360584, ––– Pa. ––––, 38 A.3d 711 (Pa.2012) (invalid); In re Reapportionment of Towns of Hartland, Windsor and W. Windsor, 160 Vt. 9, 624 A.2d 323 (1993) (invalid), with Harvey v. Clinton, 308 Ark. 546, 826 S.W.2d 236 (1992) (valid); Wilson v. Eu, 1 Cal.4th 707, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 823 P.2d 545 (1992) (valid); In re Reapportionment of the Colo. Gen. Assembly, 46 P.3d 1083 (Colo.2002) (valid); Fonfara v. Reapportionment Comm'n, 222 Conn. 166, 610 A.2d 153 (1992) (valid); Kawamoto v. Okata, 75 Haw. 463, 868 P.2d 1183 (1994) (valid); Bonneville Cnty. v. Ysursa, 142 Idaho 464, 129 P.3d 1213 (2005) (valid); Beaubien v. Ryan, 198 Ill.2d 294, 260 Ill.Dec. 842, 762 N.E.2d 501 (2001) (valid); In re Legislative Districting of Gen. Assembly, 196 N.W.2d 209 (Iowa 1972) (valid); In re Stovall, 273 Kan. 731, 45 P.3d 855 (2002) (valid); In re 2003 Legislative Apportionment of House of Representatives, 827 A.2d 810 (Me.2003) (valid); Legislative Redistricting Cases, 331 Md. 574, 629 A.2d 646 (1993) (valid); McClure v. Sec'y of the Commonwealth, 436 Mass. 614, 766 N.E.2d 847 (2002) (valid); Leroux v. Sec'y of State, 465 Mich. 594, 640 N.W.2d 849 (2002) (valid); In re Reapportionment of Towns of Woodbury & Worcester, 177 Vt. 556, 861 A.2d 1117 (2004) (valid). The Court additionally acquired Maptitud
While political considerations are tolerated in legislatively-implemented redistricting plans, they have no place in a court-ordered plan. See Wilson v. Eu, 823 P.2d 545, 576-77 (Cal. 1992); see also Wyche v. Madison Parish Police Jury, 769 F.2d 265, 268 (5th Cir. 1985) ( per curiam). The degree to which the submitted plans may reflect political considerations is perhaps best illustrated by how each plan treats the same cities and towns differently.
Similarly, compactness and contiguity requirements ultimately concern "the ability of citizens to relate to each other and their representatives and . . . the ability of representatives to relate effectively to their constituency." Wilson v. Eu, 823 P.2d 545, 553, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 379, 387 (1992). These relationships are fostered through shared interests and membership in a political community.