Nevada governor says no to special session, sends redistricting battle to courts

[The Northerner]

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A contentious battle to redraw Nevada's congressional and state legislative voting districts is heading to the courts after lawmakers were unable to come close to an agreement during the regular session.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said on Thursday he will not call lawmakers back for a special session to finish redistricting and will allow lawyers to finish the job in the next seven months.

Sandoval vetoed two sets of maps from Democrats, saying they violated the Voter Rights Act in the way they distributed minorities. Democrats accused Republican maps of illegally packing Hispanics into one congressional district and diluting their voting power elsewhere.

Redistricting happens every 10 years based on new Census data. It becomes highly politicized because one party can gain a decade-long advantage depending on how boundaries are drawn.

Source: http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/4630fdffeae44c6ab811ebdad84b2c6e/NV--Nevada-Redistricting/