Redistricting Quotes

• Redistricting is a deeply political process, with incumbents actively seeking to minimize the risk to themselves (via bipartisan gerrymanders) or to gain additional seats for their party (via partisan gerrymanders).

  Thomas E. Mann

  Party, Political, Risk

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• Redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take.

  John Engler

  Body, Action

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• Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights Act in every redistricting cycle from and after 1970.

  Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  Reality, Rights, Texas

  "Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pens Scathing Dissent On Texas Voter ID Law" By Braden Goyette, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 18, 2014.

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• We plan to pick up another five seats in the Senate and hold the House through redistricting through 2012. And rather than negotiate with the teachers’ unions and the trial lawyers and the various leftist interest groups, we intend to break them.

  Grover Norquist

  Teacher, House, Groups

  "Grover Norquist: The Soul of the New Machine" by Michael Scherer, www.motherjones.com. January 2004.

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• We were just at the beginnings of a recovery [in 2010]. And the, you know, whoever is president at that point is gonna get hit and his party's gonna get hit. That then means that suddenly you've got a redistricting in which a lot of state legislatures are now Republican. They draw lines that give a huge structural advantage in subsequent elections.

  Barack Obama

  Party, Recovery, Mean

  Source: abcnews.go.com

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• Every individual who participated in the redistricting process knew that incumbency protection was a critical factor in producing the bizarre lines. ... Many of the oddest twists and turns of the Texas districts would never have been created if the Legislature had not been so intent on protecting party and incumbents.

  John Paul Stevens

  Party, Texas, Political

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• In the House, Republican prospects have been buoyed by several successful rounds of redistricting, which have sharply reduced the number of competitive seats and given the Republicans a national advantage of at least a dozen seats.

  Thomas E. Mann

  Successful, Numbers, Perspective

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• If you ask the people who are professional political analysts, they would say that the way redistricting has worked, that the Republicans have something of a lock on the House until a redistricting occurs after 2010, particularly as a result of what DeLay did in Texas.

  John Podesta

  Texas, People, House

  "My Interview with CAP President John Podesta". Interview with Jonathan Singer, www.blueoregon.com. March 04, 2005.

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• It's going to be very important that we as women's rights advocates are involved in redistricting of both the states legislatures and of the House of Representatives and that we not lose seats but we gain seats for talented women and our country, but we're lacking behind.

  Eleanor Smeal

  Country, Rights, House

  Interview with Joanne Bamberger, www.blogher.com. December 22, 2008.

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• Republicans have spent a lot of money redistricting and everything, getting control of these governorships and statehouses.

  Collin Peterson

  Republican, Lots Of Money

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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