Jose Herrera resigned today (May 21) from the IRC, saying he has “been increasingly disturbed by the tone of the meetings and the effect of the pending lawsuits on the Commissioners and the Commission.” The Dem commissioner wrote in his letter of resignation to IRC Chair Colleen Mathis that after approving maps in January 2012, the commission’s meetings “have been unproductive and, at times, toxic.”

When Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission finished redrawing the state’s political districts, it quickly became clear that none would be as watched as the new 9th Congressional District.

Its partisan breakdown and performance models foreshadowed practically even odds for Republican or Democratic candidates.

And yet, while Democratic candidates were able to capture all three of the state’s competitive congressional districts in 2012, none won by as large a margin as Kyrsten Sinema did in CD9, defeating Republican Vernon Parker.

A three-judge panel will be appointed to hear the Arizona Legislature's lawsuit challenging the state's new congressional districts.

In their latest legal episode, the IRC will be defending itself from allegations that its legislative district plan is the result of a careful and deliberate conspiracy to fix the game for Democrats. On Friday, FAIR Trust attorney Michael Liburdi filed a federal lawsuit charging that the commission went through great lengths to pack GOP legislative districts to maximize Dem chances.

The IRC is now facing two lawsuits aimed at obliterating the commission’s legislative and congressional lines. FAIR Trust attorney Mike Liburdi and Lisa Hauser were expected to file lawsuits in state and federal court today challenging the commission’s procedures, its results and raising the possibility of open meeting law violations.

The Arizona Supreme Court is scheduled to issue a long-awaited opinion today explaining why it overturned Gov. Jan Brewer's removal of the head of the state's redistricting commission.

Ray Bladine wasn’t selected to be the chairman of the Independent Redistricting Commission, but he’ll still get to play a critical role in drawing up new political lines for the state – and now he’ll get paid for his work.

The balance of power in Arizona government may shift a little further toward the Phoenix metro area when the state's legislative and congressional district boundaries are redrawn. As a result, rural areas might wind up with less representation than they have now. Determining with any precision where the district lines will be in 2012, when Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission will finish redrawing the boundaries, is a nearly impossible task.