Republicans asked a federal court on Monday to take over the job of drawing new districts for the state House of Representatives.

GOP lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of several voters asking a federal court in Albuquerque to appoint a three-judge panel to draw district boundaries for the 70-member House. The voters include two Albuquerque-area Republicans who intend to run for House seats once new districts are established.

The lawsuit contends the state Supreme Court acted improperly last week in ordering retired state District Court Judge James Hall to revamp a redistricting plan he had approved. Democrats had challenged Hall's plan, saying it could help Republicans pick up House seats in future elections. Hall adopted a House plan that largely mirrored district configurations recommended by the governor and other GOP officials.

The court sent the case back to Hall and directed him to develop a "partisan neutral" plan. However, the lawsuit said that instruction by the justices wrongly makes partisan considerations more important than equalizing district populations to comply with the doctrine of one person, one vote.

The lawsuit said the Supreme Court's order "has substituted a goal of partisan performance for the proper goal of seeking districts as nearly equal as practicable as required by the U.S. Constitution."

The Supreme Court "also indulged itself in the fiction that a partisan neutral plan is possible, ignoring the partisan effect of its own order."

District boundaries must be realigned to adjust for population changes during the past decade.

The justices also told Hall to change a Clovis-area district to ensure that Hispanics account for a strong majority of its voters. However, the GOP lawsuit said it's a violation of federal law to use race as a primary reason for drawing a district.

The dispute over redistricting ended up in court after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed a House redistricting plan approved last year by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Currently, Democrats hold a 36-33 advantage over Republicans in the House. There's also one independent unaffiliated with either party.

A decade ago, federal judges declined to get involved in a fight over redistricting after the Democratic-controlled Legislature and then-Republican Gov. Gary Johnson couldn't agree on plans for House and congressional redistricting. A state district judge from Albuquerque ordered the district boundaries that have been used in elections since 2002. Johnson asked a panel of three judges to invalidate the court-approved House plan, but they turned down his request.

On Monday, Hall issued an order setting a deadline of Feb. 27 for issuing a final House plan. He plans to provide lawyers with a preliminary redistricting plan next week and give them an opportunity to file written comments.




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