The Princeton Gerrymandering Project is an organization that studies the fairness of political redistricting plans nationwide. And it likes what it’s seeing from Arizona, but there is some criticism.
The project gave the state a "C" rating when it considered the number of competitive districts, or places where candidates from either party have a chance of winning.
But, Adam Podowitz-Thomas, the senior legal strategist for the project, says the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission shouldn’t be disappointed by the rating.
"Honestly, Arizona's doing better than a lot of other places. What we're seeing in states that are sort of strictly partisan controlled is that whichever party is in control is sort of maximizing the number of safe seats that they can generate," Podowitz-Thomas said.
Overall, the project is giving the proposed map of new legislative districts a grade of "A" in partisan fairness.
Commission members meet again this week to continue making adjustments, with a goal of having something ready just before Christmas to use in the August 2022 primary and November general election.
