The initiative never made it to the polls but did influence the Legislature's eventual decision to adopt single-member districts. Now that I've taken a look at all that's happened, it's time to think about tweaking this a little bit. . . . My thought process is that we're going to look more at a little diversity in what the lines should look like, hopefully for the sake of improving constituent service. This would have to happen in any event if the U.S. Supreme Court continues to strike down voting districts that look as if they were fashioned to elect minorities. But the states then would face a legal dilemma because the Voting Rights Act forbids any action to dilute the votes of minorities.
All candidates run at large.
Each voter has as many votes as there are seats to fill and can choose to cast them all for a single candidate. It's a proven way to elect minority politicians without isolating minorities into voting ghettoes. It would guarantee a less parochial Legislature. Frankly, I think we ought to look at all of these things. It also called for an independent redistricting commission.