Supporters of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission argued that the Legislature’s lawsuit against the remapping panel violates the Voter Protection Act.

The Governor’s Office said it doesn’t believe a special session is needed to provide more funding to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which warned that it won’t have enough money to pay its legal bills through the end of the year and may sue if it can’t get more money before January.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission staff warned that the commission expects to run out of money in December and may sue for more funding.

A GOP attorney who is challenging Arizona’s legislative maps said a federal judge should retroactively apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that scrapped the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act, even though Arizona was still subject to the law when the maps were implemented.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission once again has five members after Democrat Cid Kallen was sworn in today at the Secretary of State’s office.

The Commission on Appellate Court Appointments has completed its work and today sent three nominees to Rep. Chad Campbell, who, as the House Minority Leader, will pick one to fill a vacancy on the Independent Redistricting Commission.

Thirteen people have applied to fill a vacant Democratic seat on the state’s five-person redistricting commission to replace a commissioner who suddenly resigned in May.

Testifying in federal court, Colleen Mathis finally had her chance to give a direct explanation for events that, over the past two years, have been woven into a full-blown conspiracy theory by Arizona Republicans.

For the first time since Republican redistricting commissioners accused their chairwoman, Colleen Mathis, of destroying mapping firm procurement documents and attempting to privately corral commissioner’s votes, Mathis offered her explanation for what happened in yesterday’s (March 28) IRC trial.

Federal judges hearing a civil suit brought by Republican voters who claim the state's new legislative maps were illegally drawn to benefit Democrats questioned lawyers Friday about whether some members of the commission that made the maps were free of political influence.