Earlier this month, FairVote released the first draft of its report investigating the political effects of Hurricane Katrina. While some studies have examined the effect of population displacement on New Orleans alone, this is the first of its kind to consider the entire southern portion of the state. FairVote will update its projections as numbers emerge.
Findings address racial representation, Voting Rights Act liability, partisan balance of power and effect on the "one person, one vote" principle. By merging affected areas into one five-member superdistrict using the one-vote system, Louisiana could remedy each of the above problems.
[Ongoing analysis; download the report and fact sheet]
[FairVote op-ed in the Washington Post]
[More on the superdistrict concept]
[More on the one-vote system/limited voting]
[Louisiana Voter Bill of Rights - download .pdf 83 KB]
[Louisiana Absentee Voter Bill of Rights - download .pdf 168 KB]
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved creating a citizens
task force to look at ways to make it easier to vote in the city. The
10-member panel will investigate the use of IRV, among other reforms.
The task force comes after a divisive mayor's race in 2004 when a
write-in candidate split the electorate and gave the city a winner with
only 35% of the vote.