Opinion ID: 891859
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: the district court should have scrutinized all of the plans for political considerations

Text: {40} The district court considered evidence regarding the partisan bias of various plans, and acknowledged the same in its findings of fact and conclusions of law. However, the plan ultimately adopted by the district court, Executive Alternative Plan 3, did not undergo the same scrutiny for partisan bias that the majority of the plans that were previously considered had undergone. The executive parties introduced Executive Alternative Plan 3 into evidence on the last day of trial, after the political science experts who had scrutinized the plans before the district court were no longer available to testify. This plan was introduced during the testimony of Brian Sanderoff. Mr. Sanderoff pointed out the existence of significant partisan performance changes as compared with previously introduced executive plans; plans which the district court had previously heard from experts were partisan-neutral. Consistent with that testimony about partisan performance changes, the district court found that Executive Alternative Plan 3 increased Republican swing seats from five to eight over prior partisan-neutral executive plans. In addition, the number of majority Republican districts increased from 31 in the original executive plan to 34 in Executive Alternative Plan 3. [3] Mr. Sanderoff testified that Executive Alternative Plan 3 could have been drafted with less partisan change, perhaps with the use of slightly greater population deviations. Because of both this testimony and the district court's rejection of other plans for perceived partisan bias considerations, and because of its own recognition that the plan contained significant partisan performance changes, the district court should have rejected Executive Alternative Plan 3 as well. At a minimum, the district court should have slowed the process down enough to determine whether the significant partisan performance changes could have been ameliorated by consideration of legitimate state policies and a more flexible approach to population deviations that would not offend the constitution. {41} The incumbent pairings in Executive Alternative Plan 3 appear to have contributed to the plan's partisan performance. Six districts were consolidated in areas that were underpopulated, two strong Democrat districts in North Central New Mexico, two strong Republican districts in Southeastern New Mexico, and a strong Republican district and a strong Democrat district that were consolidated in Central Albuquerque. The consolidated North Central district remained a strong Democrat district and the consolidated Southeastern district remained a strong Republican district. However, the consolidated Central Albuquerque district became a strong Republican district. When the vacant districts were moved to the more populous areas West of Albuquerque, two strong Republican and one strong Democrat districts were created. The result was a partisan swing of two strong seats in favor of one party. The three new seats, two Republican and one Democrat, correctly reflected the political affiliation of the population in the overpopulated areas on the West side of Albuquerque and in Rio Rancho, a result we do not question. However, the source of those three seats has a questionable partisan bias. Two of the consolidated seats, one a Democrat-Democrat consolidation in North Central New Mexico, and the other a Republican-Republican consolidation in Southeastern New Mexico, are partisan-neutral in effect. The third consolidated district in Central Albuquerque is the one that raises questions. Despite combining a Republican and a Democrat seat, it resulted in a strongly partisan district favoring one party, in effect tilting the balance for that party without any valid justification. The resulting district is oddly shaped in an area where compactness is apparently relatively easy to achieve, suggesting, at least in part, that the district was created to give political advantage to one party. This result was not politically neutral and raises serious questions regarding its propriety in a courtordered plan that should be partisan-neutral and fair to both sides. Stated differently, a more competitive district should have been created if at all practicable to avoid this political advantage to one political party and disadvantage to the other. Competitive districts are healthy in our representative government because competitive districts allow for the ability of voters to express changed political opinions and preferences. See Alexander, 51 P.3d at 1212. {42} Although consolidation of districts coupled with moving one of the consolidated districts is not the only way to address population disparities when drawing new district boundaries to comply with the Equal Protection Clause, in this case the district court appropriately exercised its equitable powers to insist on the consolidation of districts in the underpopulated regional areas of North Central and Southeastern New Mexico, as well as Central Albuquerque. The problem previously noted with the Central Albuquerque consolidation is not the fact that the consolidation occurred, but the manner in which the consolidation was accomplished.