Republicans concerned about Stanford law professor tapped to draw Connecticut redistricting map

The Stanford College legislation professor whose earlier redistricting map Republicans say locked them out of Connecticut congressional seats was tapped by the state court docket to attract the latest map.

Nate Persily, a Stanford legislation professor and Obama administration alumnus, was tapped by the Provisions State to redraw its congressional map forward of the 2022 midterm elections.

Connecticut’s state Supreme Court docket appointed Persily as Particular Grasp to attract the map, which he beforehand did in 2011 whereas working at Columbia College.

CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING GIVES EDGE TO CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS

The previous map successfully locked out Republicans from Home seats in Connecticut, leaving the GOP and not using a nationwide consultant from the state for a decade, Republicans say, 

Persily’s new map makes fewer modifications to the prevailing one, solely shifting folks in already break up cities, per studies.

Republicans count on the brand new map might proceed to lock them out of Connecticut’s congressional seats.

“When courts wish to impose a Democrat-friendly map, they name on Nate Persily to attract it,” Adam Kincaid, govt director for the Nationwide Republican Redistricting Committee, advised Fox Information Digital.

Connecticut GOP chairman Ben Proto advised Fox Information Digital in a Wednesday telephone name that the state Supreme Court docket “imposed some very restrictive necessities” on Persily when he drew the map and famous the state Republican celebration “introduced two maps” to Persily “for consideration.”

“On the finish of the day, he was considerably handcuffed by the court docket’s orders,” Proto stated. “He adopted the court docket’s order, however I feel there was a greater approach to attract that map to create congressional districts that have been extra consultant of the neighborhood, offered for extra alternative for selection… they usually simply performed across the edges and solely performed within the 5 cities that have been presently break up. They only re-split these cities.”

Proto additionally stated he discovered it “attention-grabbing that the… 5 Home members who’re most impacted, clearly, by redistricting have been sturdy supporters of H.R. 1 and H.R. 3, each of which referred to as for the elimination of political gerrymandering,” he additionally stated. “But, I suppose they solely need it to use in 49 different states, not within the state of Connecticut.”

The chairman additionally pointed to the “lobster claw” First Congressional District as being a “clearly” gerrymandered district and famous the silence of the lawmakers who voted towards political gerrymandering.

Persily has an instructional tenure in election maps and served on former President Obama’s Presidential Fee On Election Administration.

The Stanford Regulation professor additionally stated throughout a 2019 panel on tech corporations and regulating on-line speech that he believes disinformation “is extra prevalent on one aspect of the spectrum.”

“So tough for the federal government to manage it, whether or not it’s hate speech or whether or not it’s disinformation,” Persily stated. “Like why can we count on that it’s going to be even simpler for Fb to do it, as a result of at any time when Fb makes these choices proper, it’s all the time gonna have, they’re gonna be political winners and losers, proper, and that is what Alex was coping with in Congress yesterday and that we’ve all the time needed to take care of, you understand, in an surroundings the place disinformation is extra prevalent on one aspect of the spectrum, ought to the American expertise corporations put a finger on the dimensions, all proper, in order that’s that’s I feel form of at 10,000 ft?”

When requested for touch upon the brand new map and whether or not he believes the brand new modifications are honest, Persily pointed to the Particular Grasp’s report on the map.