Julie Vandermost, Petitioner v. Debra Bowen, as Secretary of State

Summary

The court held that it had original writ jurisdiction and that the petition was ripe even though the referendum had not yet qualified and its likelihood of qualification was uncertain. It directed that, if the referendum qualified and stayed the Commission-certified Senate map, the Commission's map would nevertheless be used for the 2012 primary and general elections because it was superior to the proposed alternatives under the constitutional redistricting criteria. Justice Liu, concurring, agreed with the interim-map result but would have given greater controlling significance to the constitutional requirement that the referendum be likely to qualify before the court generally decided the merits.