By Jared Gerard | State Affairs
Senate President Warren Petersen said he’s interested in redrawing both congressional and legislative districts in Arizona after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down a race-based congressional district in Louisiana.
The court’s decision in Louisiana could affect Arizona’s current congressional and legislative districts, which could now be considered unconstitutional because the districts were drawn based on race, Senate President Warren Petersen told the Yellow Sheet Report. Petersen wants the districts to be redrawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission, and if it doesn’t happen, he plans to litigate imminently, which the Legislature could pay for, he said.
“One of the same requirements is that they consider race as they’ve been drawing the map, so that (means) if it’s unconstitutional there, it’s unconstitutional here,” he said. “It should consider city boundaries, county borders, population, but race should no longer be one of the things that they consider as they’re drawing the lines.”
