There is no such thing as an independent commission if you think an independent commission means it is independent of politics. An independent commission is only independent of the state legislature, the state executive branch, and the voters. And an independent commission to redraw political boundaries may violate Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, ..." Taking elected representatives out of the drawing of voting districts clearly creates an entity which clearly interferes with, if not destroys, a republican form of government. But then I don't suppose a nation-wide socialist from Austria via California would give a damn about the U.S. Constitution.
Obviously not independent as and "independent" minded person, but yes there are moderate. However, I agree that none of those will likely make on this bipartisan board. It specifically says that our state judges from each political party will choose the first two being different. Then they will select two, and the last must be approved by all.
It does NOT completely remove elected officials either.
The amendment as read from the link on their website (www.protectyourvote.com) states in Section-2-B-10: “No member of the commission may be removed during his or her term except for failure to meet the eligibility qualifications, gross misconduct, or inability to discharge the duties of office, and no removal of a member is effective unless it be directed by the governor with the concurrence of three-quarters of the senate.”
They have some power.
It's not illeagle, or Iowa & AZ wouldn't have already done it.
"There is no such thing as an independent commission if you think an independent commission means it is independent of politics."
True. That is why I propose that redistricting be done via a computer program. Just a simple program, open source, to divide a state into geographically logical sections with equal population in each section. The program to be approved by the voters. With a Constitutional ammendment if necessary. These people are stealing away our democracy.