The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission will begin adjusting its grid maps next week, the first time it will take an active role in drawing what will ultimately become the congressional and legislative districts that the state will use for the next decade. Read more» 1

Before the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission chooses the mapping consultant that will help turn its proposed district boundaries into reality, it wants to give the three finalists an opportunity to respond to the criticism that’s been leveled at them. Read more»

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is looking to move quickly on key hires as it ramps up its work, though it will likely be a couple weeks before it makes its next big decision on who will serve as its mapping consultant. Read more»

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission chose four finalists to serve as its legal counsel, and in the process jettisoned the state’s procurement process, giving it wider latitude to choose the attorneys of its choice. Choosing legal counsel is a potentially divisive step in the commission’s process, one that set the stage for months of partisan infighting and disagreements at the last commission in 2011. The current commission has expressed an interest in choosing Republican and Democratic co-counsel, as its two predecessors did. Read more»

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission made its first staffing decision and saw its first notable partisan split, hiring Brian Schmitt, chief of staff to Republican Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring, on a 3-2 vote. Read more»