News Clips

While the Latino pool had been cut in half, there was still a 90.4% chance, according to Jonathan Stein of Common Cause, that the random draw would select at least one Latino. Yet, against those odds, and much to the consternation of many involved in the process, the first eight selected included zero Latino commissioners.

“We want people who are qualified and know their communities, but we also want people who reflect the community that the commission serves,” said Kiyana Asemanfar, policy manager for California Common Cause, a nonprofit group that assists cities with redistricting outreach. “That’s why we put such a heavy emphasis on the recruitment period. It’s difficult to achieve a representative commission if you don’t begin with a representative applicant pool.”

"When politicians feel brazen enough to not just admit but to openly declare that they are drawing political lines to rig the elections and punish certain voters, we need the Supreme Court to step in and say enough is enough," said Kathay Feng, a lawyer representing the challenges from Common Cause.

Hey, California voter, way to go! People may say you’re sun-baked, a bit too laid back and, when it comes to picking presidents, largely irrelevant. But thanks to you, the state is sitting dead center in the November fight for control of Congress.

No Cambodian-American serves as an elected official in Long Beach. Residents and activists for the Cambodian community there — the largest in the nation — want to change that. They're pushing the city to draw up new council districts that could effectively give them their own representative.

Dan Vicuna, Common Cause's National Redistricting Manager, and Sylvia Moore, Southern California Organizer for California Common Cause appeared at Equitable Redistricting for Cambodians community forum on redistricting reform in Long Beach at the MAYE Center, Aug. 4, 2018. The Long Beach City Council is poised to ask voters to end political gerrymandering in its city by placing the proposal on the November ballot.