Nebraskans for Independent Redistricting, a Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation is Sponsoring this Petition:
(1) Every ten years beginning in 2021, the Legislature shall establish a screening committee of nine of its members, no more than five of whom may be affiliated with the same political party. Action by the screening committee shall require the affirmative votes of at least six of its members. The screening committee shall appoint a Commission on Redistricting with responsibility to draw and recommend to the Legislature the boundaries of election districts;
(2) The commission shall be comprised of nine registered voters of the State of Nebraska divided into three groups: Three commissioners registered with the largest political party in the state, three commissioners registered with the second largest political party in the state, and three commissioners not registered with either of these political parties. The opportunity to serve on the commission shall be broadly advertised to the public. The screening committee shall identify and make public a pool of candidates from among the registered voters of the state who apply to the screening committee, who have the ability to exercise nonpartisan, independent judgment in drawing election districts, and who in the judgment of the screening committee are likely to do so. The screening committee or its staff may interview applicants prior to finalizing the pool of candidates. The screening committee shall select two candidates in each of the three groups in the pool at random and appoint them to the commission and shall directly choose one candidate from each group and appoint them to the comm1ss1on;
(3) Commissioners shall not have changed political affiliation 1n the three years prior to submission of their applications. No commissioner, and no member of a commissioner's immediate family, shall be a member of Congress, a member of the Legislature, a constitutional officer of the State of Nebraska (other than a commissioner), an elected county or city official, an elected or appointed official or employee of a political party, a consultant for a political party, a candidate or consultant for a candidate for state, county, or city elective office, or a registered lobbyist, and no commissioner or member of a commissioner's immediate family shall have held any of these positions for at least five years prior to the commissioner's application;
(4)The screening committee shall appoint the commissioners on or before February 14, 2021, and on or before February 14 every ten years thereafter. Each commissioner's term shall expire ten years after the date of the commissioner's appointment or when the next commission is established, whichever is earlier. The screening committee shall fill vacancies on the commission from the same pool and group of candidates as the commissioner whose position is vacant. No commissioner shall be eligible for state office until after the next commission recommends maps to the Legislature;
(5)The commission shall begin its work on or before March 1 of each year in which the commission is established and shall recommend maps setting forth the boundaries of all election districts by May 1 of that same year;
(6)The commission may retain employees, consultants, and legal counsel and contract for goods and services, but shall not retain or contract with an individual who would be ineligible to serve on the commission under subdivision (3) of this section or an entity owned or controlled by such an individual. On each business day beginning on the date a commissioner begins work through May 1 1n the year of appointment, and on other days on which the commission meets, a commissioner shall be entitled to the same per diem and reimbursement of expenses as a member of the Legislature while the Legislature is in session;
(7)The Legislature shall provide meeting space and staff for the commission and shall appropriate the funds necessary for the commission to carry out its duties;
(8)The commission shall hold at least one public meeting in each congressional district prior to recommending maps to the Legislature. The commission shall make the maps proposed for recommendation and other data being considered readily available to the public across the state in a reasonably usable format at least seven days prior to the first such meeting and shall consider comments and maps provided by the public. Maps proposed by the commission shall be accompanied by a written explanation of the decisions made by the commission in drawing the maps;
(9)A quorum of the commission shall be seven commissioners. In order to be effective, any action taken by the commission, including the election of its chairperson and vice-chairperson and the recommendation of maps, shall have the votes of at least two commissioners from each of the three groups of commissioners;
(10) Subject to other provisions of this Constitution, election districts shall be drawn in accordance with the following criteria, in order of priority: (a) Complying with federal law, (b) creating contiguous districts, (c) making districts as nearly equal in population as possible, (d) ensuring that districts do not deny or abridge the right to vote on the basis of race or language, and (e) minimizing the division of county, municipal, and neighborhood boundaries;
(11) Notwithstanding subdivision (10) of this section, election districts shall not be drawn to intentionally favor any incumbent or political party and shall not, when viewed on a statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any political party;
(12) Except as may be otherwise required by federal law or to evaluate maps for compliance with subdivisions (10) and (11) of this section, election districts shall be drawn without considering the political affiliation of voters or previous voting data;
(13) The commission shall recommend to the Legislature maps setting forth the boundaries of election districts. Such maps shall be subject to final approval by the Legislature;
(14) The Legislature shall not redraw any districts. If any districts are rejected by the Legislature, the commission shall redraw the maps containing such districts in compliance with subdivisions (10), (11), and (12) of this section, taking into account any feedback from the Legislature, and resubmit such maps to the Legislature for approval;
(15) All proceedings of the Legislature and its committees regarding redistricting and all meetings of the commission shall be conducted exclusively in public; and
(16) Any registered voter of the State of Nebraska may maintain an action to compel compliance with this section. The district court for Lancaster County shall have original jurisdiction over any such action.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
