I have an amendment to Section II that makes minor fixes to the number of seats in the legislature (the original text did not mirror the seat allocation that IL and ME have in real life):
Lincoln Downballot Elections Act
I. Elections
a. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in May in the following states: New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Illinois, mayoral elections for the city of New York shall also be held with these states
b. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in June in the following states: Wisconsin and Michigan
c. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in July in the following states: New York and Massachusetts
d. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in August in the following states: New Jersey and Vermont
e. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in September in the following states: Maine and Pennsylvania
f. The first elections for state legislature and governor will be held in October in the following states: Connecticut and Ohio
g. This sequence shall restart after elections in Connecticut and Ohio
II. Composition
a. Each of these states shall have a bicameral legislature
b. House and Senate districts are not nested unless stated otherwise, also each House and Senate seat must have equal population to other House and Senate seats
c. The number of legislators per state shall be as follows:
i.Wisconsin: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
ii. Illinois: 59 members of the State Senate and 188 118 members of the State House of Representatives
a. 2 voting districts for the House must be nested into each Senate district
iii. Michigan: 38 members of the State Senate and 110 members of the State House of Representatives
iv. Indiana: 50 members of the State Senate and 100 members of the State House of Representatives
v. Ohio: 33 members of the State Senate and 99 members of the State House of Representatives
a. 3 voting districts for House must be nested into each Senate seat
vi. Pennsylvania: 50 members of the State Senate and 203 members of the State House of Representatives
vii. New Jersey: 40 members of the State Senate and 80 members of the State House of Representatives
a. Each Senate district shall elect two representatives, in other words House and Senate districts have the exact same lines
viii. New York: 150 members of the State Senate and 63 members of the State House of Representatives
a. nesting not required, however nesting districts is preferred, if possible
ix. Connecticut: 36 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
x. Rhode Island: 38 members of the State Senate and 75 members of the State House of Representatives
xi. Massachusetts: 40 members of the State Senate and 160 members of the State House of Representatives
xii. Vermont: 30 members of the State Senate and 150 members of the State House of Representatives
xiii. New Hampshire: 24 members of the State Senate and 400 members of the State House of Representatives
xix. Maine: 35 members of the State Senate and 151 members of the State House of Representatives
a. three additional non-voting seats in the House of Representatives must be set aside for members of the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the Houlton Band of Maliseets.
III. Redistricting
1. Redistricting shall consist of a commission of the majority and minority leader of both houses of the state legislature, as well as 5 citizens, and 2 legislators from the minority party in the State House of Representatives
2. The commission must create a map that prioritizes one of these two goals: maximizing the competitiveness of districts or drawing districts proportional to partisanship
3. In areas where there is a high minority population, and it is possible to draw a seat where the voting age population of a minority coalition is greater than 50%, or where the voting age population of a specific minority group (i.e. African Americans or Latinos) that seat must be drawn by the commission.
4. In areas where it is possible to draw a seat as described in Section 3, Clause 1, but with a minority coalition or individual minority group population of above 40% of the voting age population, it is recommended that the commission draw that seat
5. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 3 shall be known as Voting Rights Act seat (if it is a majority of a single minority) or a Minority Coalition seat (if they seat is formed by a majority of multiple minority groups)
6. For the purposes, of this act, the seats in Section 4 shall be known as Opportunity Seats
7. Redistricting shall occur every two years on this calendar (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027, etc.)
IV. Implementation
1. This act shall take effect two weeks after being signed into law
