Reply #32: Eight GOP congressmen endorse Schwarzenegger's push for '06 district remap [View All]

[dzika]

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Eight GOP congressmen endorse Schwarzenegger's push for 2006 district remap

Eight of the 20 California Republicans in Congress have endorsed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's push for new legislative and congressional districts for the 2006 elections.

In a letter to the Republican governor, the lawmakers said they agreed that drawing new districts for 2006 was a "necessary reform to restore fair and democratic electoral choice to the voters of California."

Schwarzenegger is backing legislation and an initiative to take the power to draw districts away from the Democrat-dominated Legislature and turn it over to a panel of retired judges, saying it would result in more seats that either party could win.

The governor wants new districts in place for the 2006 elections, although some experts say there's not enough time to do that. Normally, the districts wouldn't be redrawn until after the next federal census in 2010.

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