Republican critics of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission will file two lawsuits that seek to force the redrawing of the commission’s approved legislative and congressional districts.

For a hefty price, campaigns can get their hands on some surprising details about everyday people, then use that information to influence election outcomes. But “microtargeting,” as it's known, is no longer reserved for large, national campaigns. It's coming to a race near you.

Gov. Jan Brewer today said she won’t call a special legislative session to either repeal or reform the independent redistricting process, despite calls from some lawmakers that she do so this week.

The governor’s emphatic statement, which was released after she met with House Speaker Andy Tobin and Senate President Steve Pierce, means the chances of lawmakers convening by tomorrow to meet a deadline for placing items on the Feb. 28 ballot have all but evaporated.

A judge will consider Wednesday whether to end or revitalize a civil investigation into whether Arizona's redistricting commission violated open meetings law when it selected consultants to help draw new congressional and legislative districts.

Rep. Carl Seel suggested that the Independent Redistricting Commission’s mapping consultants may have put him in a less Republican district in retaliation for his legislative record.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Redistricting, Seel, R-Phoenix, questioned why Strategic Telemetry – which has ties to Democratic candidates and causes, including President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign – put him a new district that eliminated much of his conservative support.

Questioned after he made his public comments, Seel told the Arizona Capitol Times that he is not accusing Strategic Telemetry or the IRC of gerrymandering him into a less favorable district – and he had no proof that such a conspiracy took place.

One of Arizona’s redistricting commissioners told Attorney General Tom Horne that the commission’s chairwoman destroyed documents used to score mapping firms during a closed-door meeting.

In the high-stakes job to redraw Arizona’s political districts, much has been debated about the idea of “transparency.”

The Independent Redistricting Commission, apparently concerned about the public perception of its decision to hire a mapping firm with historic ties to Democratic causes, recently established a rule intended to allay fears of partisanship driving the mapping process.

But what about the commission itself? Shouldn’t its members be held to the same standard? 

The state’s redistricting commission today moved closer to making a decision about whether it will continue require detailed tracking of all contact between its mapping firm and any member of the media.

But the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission postponed a vote so it can get more input from its attorneys, media outlets and bloggers.

The executive director of the Independent Redistricting Commission refutes a claim that the group’s contract with its mapping firm is invalid.

One Republican observer found recent IRC procurement contract revelations and Dem Commissioner José Herrera's statements to be signs of highly suspect commission dealings.