Court Approves Special Master’s Map

by CTNewsjunkie Staff | Feb 10, 2012 6:51pm
(2) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Congress, Courts, Legal

The Supreme Court adopted the redistricting plan submitted by the independent expert known as a special master Friday. The plan makes few changes to the current map which has Democrats, who currently hold all five congressional seats declaring victory.

Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney said the court decision vindicates what the Democrats have been saying since the very beginning, which was there needs to be few changes to the current districts.

“The Republicans were hoping the court would deliver something they couldn’t get through negotiations,” Looney said Friday.

Republicans were hardly surprised by the decision based on the instructions issued by the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court’s adoption of the congressional reapportionment plan comes as no surprise, given the previous instructions it gave to the Special Master to pursue a ‘minimalist’ approach that comported with the Democrats’ request,” Cafero said.

“We continue to believe that our proposal to undo the gerrymandering that took place a decade ago, particularly with respect to the 5th Congressional District, was reasonable and responsible,” he added.

Looney disagreed.

Looney said the 5th district, where Republicans wanted to move New Britain from the 5th to the 1st,  needed the fewest changes because it was the closest to the mandated 714,819 people, per district.

The special master’s plan moves 28,975 people or less than 1 percent of the state’s population out of their current districts and splits fewer towns than the existing map. The 2nd district, which needed to shed about 15,000 people in order to comply with the one-person, one vote principle, lost all of Durham, which will be absorbed by the 3rd district.

Meanwhile the 4th district picks up some voters in the town of Shelton, which is partially in the 3rd. The change in the 5th district is so minimal it’s hard to even spot on the map. Essentially he moved 548 people from the 1st district to the 5th district and moved 24 people from the 5th district to the 1st district.

The tab for having to hire the special master will need to be picked up by both the Republican and Democratic caucuses. The Supreme Court order says they must pay the special master, Nathaniel Persily, $36,400.

Neither side has gotten a bill yet from their respective attorneys.

Tags: Redistricting, Republicans, Democrats, maps, congress

(2) Comments

posted by: RorabackDemocrat | February 11, 2012  12:23pm

The 5th district map might still be the same, but it is still Roraback’s race to lose.

posted by: ... | February 11, 2012  6:40pm

You have to love the 2nd district. Despite the loss of Durham, it remains the most ideal and well shaped of the districts. Although some (jokingly) say ‘the easier it is to draw, the harder it is to live there’, I find the second district to be a fine place! Though I’ll concede to Demetri Martin that people are going towards the squiggly places.