April, 1982 Home   Newsletters

May-June, 1982

July-August, 1982

President's Message (Arlene Woo)
Dollars for League
Membership Update
Calendar
Development Plan Hearings - City Planning Commission
Barbara Farwell's Report to the Annual Meeting (Barbara Farwell)
League Hosts Open House at New Hotel Street Office
Sign Up for State Council !!
New Officers and Directors
It's Election Year ! (Marian Wilkins)
Juvenile Justice Project
Viewpoint - Court Rules Reapportionment Unconstitutional (Ardis Shaw)
International Relations Cmte Meets (Dottie Gullicksen)
News Bits
Attention Fund Raisers

Viewpoint - Court Rules Reapportionment Unconstitutional

Court Rules Reapportionment Unconstitutional

The new Hawaii political map, created by the 1981 Reapportionment Commission, is unconstitutional and must be redone. That was the unanimous ruling that a 3-judge federal panel handed down last month. The proposed plan, that would have established new State Senate and House boundaries for the next 10 years, came under legal fire late last year. Among other things, there were accusations that the boundaries were gerrymandered to favor particular groups.

The LWV challenged the remapping, charging that it violated the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. Boundaries were drawn using registered voters as a population base. This would lead to unequal representation because some areas have a higher percentage of registered voters, meaning they would receive greater representation. People under 18, resident military, the politically alienated or those who just fail to register, all have the right to be represented on an equal basis. The federal panel agreed and also upheld arguments alleging large deviation in the number of voters from one district to another.

Vital to the League's case was information collected by Dr. Andy Mason and Phil Houser of the Population Institute at the East-West Center. Their investigation, carried out at LWV's request, strengthened our case by showing substantial unequal representation among districts.

The court appointed 5 special "Masters" to redraw an acceptable plan. If a court-approved redistricting of the state is not feasible in time for the next election, other forms of interim relief will be considered.

Ardis Shaw

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