Gerrymandering/Redistricting

North Carolina voting-rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn all of the redistricting plans drawn by Republicans and being used starting with the 2024 elections, saying legislative leaders unlawfully weakened the electoral influence of Black voters. The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, Common Cause and eight Black residents filed a lawsuit in federal court. They accuse GOP legislative leaders of intentionally moving this fall boundary lines for General Assembly and congressional districts in part so that many Black voters will be prevented from having the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. Instead, the plaintiffs contend, Black voting blocs are submerged into districts with white majorities that don't normally vote for Black candidates. For decades, Black residents have overwhelmingly favored Democratic candidates. "The General Assembly targeted predominantly Black voting precincts with surgical precision throughout the state in drawing and enacting the 2023 Plans, at the expense of traditional redistricting criteria, to achieve preferred district lines that diminish Black voters' ability to elect candidates of their choice at all levels of government," the lawsuit's authors wrote. Tuesday's lawsuit marks at least the third and most comprehensive litigation filed by voters since the Republican-dominated General Assembly enacted new maps in October for its own districts and for North Carolina's congressional delegation that are designed to boost GOP clout for years to come.

Common Cause Florida is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has been working for nearly 50 years to uphold the core values of American democracy, including an open, accountable government that is of, by, and for the people. They focus on issues around voting, and ensuring that every vote counts, that every eligible voter gets their chance to have a say, and that our elections represent the will of the people. Our guest today, Amy Keith, started working for Common Cause Florida about a year and a half ago as Florida Program Director, leading the organization’s voting rights, redistricting, and accountability work, including its federal congressional redistricting case that’s still working its way through the system. As of December 1st she now serves as the organization’s Executive Director.

Dede Feldman, former Democratic state Senator and advocate with Common Cause New Mexico, said on New Mexico in Focus that the current process is inherently partisan. “The Legislature is always going to fall into the trap of having the majority party draw the map that they like to maximize their influence,” she said.

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, pointed to the change in support of the Iowa model by Republican lawmakers. "The short answer is that very few Republicans and certainly not Tusler ever supported any version of the Iowa model legislation before Sept. 11, 2023 -- the date Robin Vos announced his plan," Heck told PolitiFact Wisconsin. Common Cause is a nonpartisan national group with state chapters devoted to fighting for reforms to gerrymandering, political spending and other issues.

Top Grassroots Lobbyists Aaron Scherb, Common Cause

“This decision blatantly ignores the will of Florida voters who — more than a decade ago — demanded Fair Districts that protect representation for communities of color,” Amy Keith, the executive director of Common Cause Florida, said in a statement, referring to the state’s Fair Districts Amendment. Keith noted in her statement that the Florida congressional boundaries are also being challenged in federal court in a separate pending case that argues that the map violates the US Constitution. “Our work is not done until all voters can exercise their right to fair representation,” she said.