Redistricting and Legislative Partisanship - Paperback

Partisan rigidity and distaste for compromise receive much of the blame for continuing legislative deadlock in Sacramento-typified by regular annual stalemates over the state budget. More specific blame is often focused on the 2001 redistricting process, in which the Legislature created new, safe, state and Congressional election districts in such a way that Republican-held seats were made more Republican and Democratic-held seats more Democratic. Movements to reform the redistricting process-to give the responsibility to some body independent of the state Legislature-have been unsuccessful so far. It is widely assumed that if more balanced districts could be drawn, a more bipartisan spirit might emerge in Sacramento. Redistricting and Legislative Partnership shows that the 2001 redistricting was not the partisan watershed event that many assume.