Page:Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm’n.pdf/12

8 Several other States, as a means to curtail partisan gerrymandering, have also provided for the participation of commissions in redistricting. Some States, in common with Arizona, have given nonpartisan or bipartisan com­missions binding authority over redistricting. The Cali­fornia Redistricting Commission, established by popular initiative, develops redistricting plans which can be halted by public referendum. Still other States have given commissions an auxiliary role, advising the legislatures on redistricting, or serving as a “backup” in the event the State’s representative body fails to complete redistricting. Studies report that nonpartisan and bipartisan commis­sions generally draw their maps in a timely fashion and create districts both more competitive and more likely to survive legal challenge. See Miller & Grofman, Redistrict­ing Commissions in the Western United States, 3 U. C. Irvine L. Rev. 637, 661, 663–664, 666 (2013).

On January 17, 2012, the AIRC approved final congres­sional and state legislative maps based on the 2010 cen­sus. See Arizona Independent Redistricting, Final Maps,