Backers – Mainly One Man – of Proposition 20 Hit the Mailbox

Through September 27, Charles T. Munger, a physicist who works at Stanford University’s Linear Accelerator, has contributed roughly $7.5 million to pass Proposition 20 and defeat Proposition 27.

Proposition 20 would vest the power over drawing legislative district lines for California’s congressional delegation in the hands of a citizen’s commission approved by voters as Proposition 11 in November 2008. At the moment, the commission is only charged with drawing the boundary lines for California’s 120 state legislators.

Proposition 27, backed by the state’s congressional delegation and some state legislators, would eliminate the commission and return district line drawing to the hands of lawmakers.

Below is the inside of a recent mailing that shows where a good chunk of Munger’s money has gone.

On the prussian blue cover of the six-page, 4 and 3/4th inches by 8 and 3/4th inches stiff paper mailing is a map of California showing some tortuously shaped legislative districts drawn by lawmakers in key population centers such as the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

“Politicians can ignore voters when they draw their own districts,” the white print headline above the map reads. Below the map recipients are urged to view the “compelling” documentary Gerrymandering, a DVD of which is  tucked into an inside sleeve of the mailer.

Opening it reveals this:

Flipping the right page reveals this:

Finally, the back page with the mailing address:

(Editor’s Note: This is a very expensive mailing by any standard, political or otherwise. The “compelling” documentary has yet to be viewed. Stay tuned.)

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