Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/13-1314_3ea4.pdf
Page Number: 11

Cite as:  576 U. S. ____ (2015) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

Aimed  at  “ending  the  practice  of  gerrymandering  and
improving  voter and candidate participation in elections,”
App.  50,  Proposition  106  amended  the  Arizona  Constitu­
tion  to  remove  congressional  redistricting  authority  from
the  state  legislature,  lodging  that  authority,  instead,  in  a
new entity, the AIRC.  Ariz. Const., Art. IV, pt. 2, §1, ¶¶3– 
23.  The  AIRC  convenes  after  each  census,  establishes 
final district boundaries, and certifies the new districts to 
the Arizona Secretary of State.  ¶¶16–17.  The legislature
may  submit  nonbinding  recommendations  to  the  AIRC,
¶16, and is required to make necessary appropriations for 
its operation, ¶18.  The highest ranking officer and minor­
ity  leader  of  each  chamber  of  the  legislature  each  select 
one member of the AIRC from a list compiled by Arizona’s 
Commission  on  Appellate  Court  Appointments.  ¶¶4–7.
The  four  appointed  members  of  the  AIRC  then  choose,
from  the  same  list,  the  fifth  member,  who  chairs  the 
Commission.  ¶8.  A  Commission’s  tenure  is  confined  to 
one  redistricting  cycle;  each  member’s  time  in  office  “ex­
pire[s]  upon  the  appointment  of  the  first  member  of  the
next redistricting commission.”  ¶23.

Holders of, or candidates for, public office may not serve 
on the AIRC, except candidates for or members of a school
board.  ¶3.  No more than two members of the Commission 
may be members of the same political party, ibid., and the 
presiding  fifth  member  cannot  be  registered  with  any 
party already represented on the Commission, ¶8.  Subject
to  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  Arizona  Senate, 
AIRC members may be removed by the Arizona Governor 
for gross misconduct, substantial neglect of duty, or inabil­
ity to discharge the duties of office.  ¶10.5 
—————— 

2011). 

5 In  the  current  climate  of  heightened  partisanship,  the  AIRC  has 

encountered interference with its operations.  In particular, its depend­
ence on the Arizona Legislature for funding, and the removal provision
have proved problematic.  In 2011, when the AIRC proposed boundaries