https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/16/1742070/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-GOP-plots-to-destroy-Arizona-s-independent-redistricting-commission-yet-again
"Republican legislators just won't give up in their fight gain the ability to engage in partisan gerrymandering by dismantling Arizona's independent redistricting commission. They recently advanced a proposed state constitutional amendment out of a state Senate committee that would dramatically reorganize the commission in a way that would render it toothless. If the voters approve this in a November ballot referendum, the commission would effectively be neutralized, giving the GOP-majority legislature the power to pass its own gerrymanders. This isn't the first time that Arizona Republicans have gone to extremes to fight for the ability to gerrymander, which we'll explain below. Back in 2000, voters approved a ballot initiative to create the commision itself after legislators gerrymandered decade after decade. This commission has two Republicans and two Democrats, who then pick a fifth unaffiliated tiebreaker. Most importantly, legislators and party officials themselves don't get to nominate who can serve on the commission, making this one of the very few in the country that can truly be deemed independent of legislative dominance. Independence from legislative control is critical because even when states create commissions where legislative leaders of both parties select an equal number of partisans, those commissioners are far more likely to engage in bipartisan incumbent-protection gerrymandering, while regular citizens often favor more competitive lines."
