Re: Memo for 2020 House redistricting letter
Aug. 31, 2019
CC: Jason Adams, 13 Emeline St., Randolph
Christos Alexopoulos, 82 Oak St, Randolph
James Burgess, 160 Pond St., Randolph
Natacha Clerger, 580 South Main St., Randolph
Katrina Huff-Larmond, 6 Gloria Rd., Randolph
Paul Meoni, 16 Pine Rd, Randolph
Kerby Roberson, Milton, kerby@robersonlaws.com
Jarred Rose, Stoughton, jarred@jarredrose.com
Denise Swenson, Milton, https://www.townofmilton.org/user/1153/contact
To my fellow residents of 7th Norfolk and 1st Norfolk House districts:
I would like to invite you to sign a joint letter to the state legislature asking that the House redistricting committee create a Randolph-centered House district after the 2020 census. Several of those on this memo's CC list testified after the 2010 census, pointing out the problems with the current trio of House districts that split Randolph, but that testimony was too late in the process to be decisive. My proposed letter is intended to insert Randolph's case into the redistricting process much earlier – and give us a basis to file a lawsuit against the redistricting committee if the post-2020 lines are drawn to split Randolph again.
I have little doubt that, without intervention, the post-2020 House redistricting will split Randolph again, because the focus of the redistricting committee is on Boston. I outline in the section on "12th Suffolk" (Rep. Cullinane) in the letter below how the committee's Boston-focus directly caused the loss of a majority-minority district for the 7th Norfolk district (Rep. Driscoll). I note there that an explicit goal of the post-2010 redistricting was to create MORE majority-minority districts, and they missed one such opportunity in 7th Norfolk.
The relevant excerpt from the "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", December 12, 2012: "The Committee increased the electoral opportunities of minority voters living in the Commonwealth in accordance with the principles articulated by the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the state and federal courts. ...[T]he Committee did not unduly subordinate traditional redistricting principles for racial considerations, but rather gave due weight to all of the competing legitimate state interests. The Committee created twenty majority-minority House districts, an increase from the prior ten majority-minority districts. "
Regarding the 1st Norfolk district (Rep. Ayers), the existing district is an example of racial gerrymandering which results in the disempowerment of four precincts of Randolph. The Supreme Court's recent rulings on gerrymandering distinguish that partisan gerrymandering is allowed, but racial gerrymandering is disallowed – so I focus on the racial gerrymandering aspects. In the 1st Norfolk district, one-third of Randolph is electorally disempowered by pairing us with a wealthy white section of Quincy, with whom the people of Randolph have little economic interaction nor demographic similarity, based on a misleading geographical closeness.
Randolph is a victim of the state legislature's "packing and cracking." The most majority-minority precincts of Milton are "packed" with Mattapan to the north, instead of with Randolph to the south, resulting in the loss of a majority-minority district in 7th Norfolk. Then Randolph is further "cracked" by splitting up our remaining precincts with Quincy and Braintree, creating a situation where Randolph residents cannot seat our own representative in the Massachusetts House.
The relevant principle of law is summarized from the Supreme Court case Vieth v. Jubelirer, (478 U.S. at 132, 2004): "[U]constitutional discrimination occurs only when the electoral system is arranged in a manner that will consistently degrade a voter’s or a group of voters’ influences on the political process as a whole" (As summarized by NCSL, the National Conference of State Legislatures, in their advice on state redistricting). The "packing and cracking" of Randolph has consistently degraded our political influence in choosing our state Representatives.
The proposed letter below is a draft – subject to your feedback – with the intent of sending it to the four cited House members when complete, and then to the relevant legislative committee. Perhaps some of those four cited members will sign the letter too, which would then be sent to the members of the legislature's Special Joint Committee on Redistricting (who are listed below). Assuming the post-2020 redistricting still splits Randolph, having written in advance would provide a strong basis for a post-redistricting lawsuit.
In looking at other similar lawsuits, the common practice is that past candidates and potential future candidates sign on as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit. You are one of those past candidates or potential future candidates – are you interested in signing on?
Sincerely,
Jesse Gordon
52 West St. Randolph MA 02368
(617) 320-6989
House
Committee on Redistricting |
|
Paul Mark |
Chair |
Daniel Donahue |
Vice chair |
Angelo Scaccia |
Democratic Member |
Colleen Garry |
Democratic Member |
Sean Garballey |
Democratic Member |
Frank Moran |
Democratic Member |
David Rogers |
Democratic Member |
Jose Tosado |
Democratic Member |
Dylan Fernandes |
Democratic Member |
Paul Frost |
Republican Member |
Steven Howitt |
Republican Member |
Senate
Committee on Redistricting |
|
Cynthia Stone Creem |
Chair |
Michael Rodrigues |
Vice chair |
Barbara L'Italien |
Democratic Member |
James Welch |
Democratic Member |
Sal DiDomenico |
Democratic Member |
Bruce Tarr |
Republican Member |
To: Special Joint Committee on Redistricting
Sep. 15, 2019
Re: Randolph House redistricting
We are writing you regarding the three House districts that include Randolph, and requesting that the upcoming House redistricting create a Randolph-centered House district.
After the 2010 census, Randolph was split into three House districts. The three districts each place precincts of Randolph in the minority of the voting population of the overall district. Randolph's population in the 2020 census will likely exceed 40,000, making Randolph eligible for our own House district. If not a Randolph-only district, then an appropriate House district would include all of Randolph plus one or two neighboring towns' precincts.
Randolph is a majority-minority town, unique among our neighboring towns. Hence splitting up Randolph among our neighboring towns loses the opportunity for a majority-minority House district. In the "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", your predecessor committee's report dated December 12, 2012, the committee cited achieving 20 majority-minority districts. We are asking to create a 21st majority-minority district. This letter provides the background and details to do so.
We look forward to working with your committee on this important issue,
Sincerely,
Jesse Gordon
[add others here]
7th Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep.
Driscoll)
1st Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep. Ayers)
5th Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep. Cusack)
NOTES:
Special Joint Committee on Redistricting
- Senate order 1/29/2009 and House order 3/5/2009
For 2010-2012 Special Joint Committee:
Senate Chair Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst
Senate Vice-Chair Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston
House Chair Michael J. Moran of Boston
House Vice-Chair Cheryl Coakley-Rivera of Springfield
From "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", December 12, 2012:
"The Committee increased the electoral opportunities of minority voters living in the Commonwealth in accordance with the principles articulated by the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the state and federal courts. ...[T]he Committee did not unduly subordinate traditional redistricting principles for racial considerations, but rather gave due weight to all of the competing legitimate state interests. The Committee created twenty majority-minority House districts, an increase from the prior ten majority-minority districts. "
http://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-and-the-supreme-court-the-most-significant-cases.aspx
[U]constitutional discrimination occurs only when the electoral system is arranged in a manner that will consistently degrade a voter’s or a group of voters’ influences on the political process as a whole.
(Vieth v. Jubelirer, Supreme Court case 2004, and 478 U.S. at 132)
That Supreme Court case and later ones established that partisan gerrymandering is constitutional but racial gerrymandering is not.
In Reynolds v. Sims, the court ruled that "the Equal Protection Clause demands no less than substantially equal state legislative representation for all citizens, of all places as well as of all races."
https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Massachusetts_after_the_2020_census#Apportionment_and_release_of_census_data
House Committee on Redistricting membership, 2018
Member Position Political party
Paul Mark Chair Democratic
Daniel Donahue Vice chair Democratic
Angelo Scaccia Member Democratic
Colleen Garry Member Democratic
Sean Garballey Member Democratic
Frank Moran Member Democratic
David Rogers Member Democratic
Jose Tosado Member Democratic
Dylan Fernandes Member Democratic
Paul Frost Member Republican
Steven Howitt Member Republican
Senate Committee on Redistricting membership, 2018
Member Position Political party
Cynthia Stone Creem Chair Democratic
Michael Rodrigues Vice chair Democratic
Barbara L'Italien Member Democratic
James Welch Member Democratic
Sal DiDomenico Member Democratic
Bruce Tarr Member Republican
To the census staff --
I represent a group preparing
a lawsuit against the Massachusetts legislature's redistricting committee for
racial gerrymandering of the majority-minority city of Randolph after the 2010
census. Our intent is to disseminate in the press the racially-disempowering
results of the post-2010 redistricting and how that can be avoided in
the post-2020 redistricting. Could you provide a demographic count of each
precinct in the following four state House districts?
* 7th Norfolk (Randolph/Milton)
* 12th Suffolk (Milton/Boston)
* 5th Norfolk
(Randolph/Holbrook/Braintree)
* 1st Norfolk
(Randolph/Quincy)
Searching the internet
readily provides the desired demographic information by town, but not by
precinct. How might we request precinct-level data for the 2010 census? And how
might we request it in advance for the 2020 census?
Sincerely,
Jesse Gordon
52 West St. Randolph MA 02368
(617) 320-6989