Press Release
Connecticut Director to Retire After Strengthening Voting Rights
National government watchdog, Common Cause, announced the retirement of Cheri Quickmire, who led the Connecticut office for 18 years.
Press
Media Contacts
Katie Scally
Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
408-205-1257
Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.
News Clip
Commission Vote on House Redistricting Map Expected Thursday
News Clip
Bipartisan deal struck on CT state House redistricting
The General Assembly’s bipartisan Reapportionment Commission is expected to vote Thursday on new maps for the 151 state House Districts to reflect population shifts counted by the pandemic-delayed 2020 Census.
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New Haven Independent: Redistrict Critics Slice Own District Maps
As they sat to draw their own legislative maps, the voting reform advocates aimed to keep various “communities of interest” intact. When a community of interest is split across multiple districts, that group’s vote is often diluted and overwhelmed by other priorities, giving legislators less of an incentive to represent its voice.
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CT Post, Opinion: Redistricting process should be transparent
Voters should pick their elected officials, not the other way around. Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But it ain’t necessarily so. Too often the redrawing of voting districts, which is required every 10 years to conform with population shifts as reflected in the U.S. census, is done with an eye toward ensuring the reelection of officeholders...
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COVID-19 Is Still An Excuse For Absentee Ballots
Connecticut voters are eligible to cast absentee ballots during the coming Nov. 2 municipal elections as a result of legislative action which once again expanded voting options due to the pandemic, state and local officials advised Tuesday.
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The Day: Common Cause, local legislators weigh in on redistricting
"Almeida said Common Cause has long supported an independent redistricting commission model where the people actually drawing district lines 'are everyday people, not politicians, not lobbyists, people without conflicts of interest.' Still, Almeida and others were realistic in recognizing the current system. They said there were different ways to protect the integrity of the redistricting process, whether through the committee or commission utilizing nonpartisan staff, allowing an abundance of public input and making sure the lawmakers...
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WSHU: Connecticut Voters’ Group Speaks Out Against Gerrymandering
“We make sure that districts do not remove voting rights from Black and Brown and other people of color. And that we try to retain some contiguity and some continuity in the communities to benefit the voters not to benefit the elected officials,” Quickmire said.
Press Release
VIDEO LINKS AND QUOTES from Today’s Media Briefing: What’s Happening and What’s at Stake for Connecticut in 2021
Earlier today, a panel of national and local redistricting experts briefed the media on the current state play in Connecticut’s redistricting cycle. The group of experts described how and why a fair redistricting process should be conducted, and how Connecticut’s current process misses the mark when it comes to transparency and public engagement.
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CT Post: In Stratford, battle lines being drawn over Town Council lines
“I’d defy anybody to show me how Lordship reaching over to the Devon Bridge or District 2 being a five-armed octopus is either compact or contiguous,” Democratic Registrar of Voters Jim Simon said. “These things are not done by accident.”
Republicans say the maps are the result of shifts in census data.
“Redistricting is purely population driven,” GOP Registrar Lou DeCilio, who is also the chairman of the Republican Town Committee, said. “It has nothing to do with ethnicity, income level or...
Republicans say the maps are the result of shifts in census data.
“Redistricting is purely population driven,” GOP Registrar Lou DeCilio, who is also the chairman of the Republican Town Committee, said. “It has nothing to do with ethnicity, income level or...
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CT News Junkie: Redistricting Moves Beyond Deadline To Next Phase
“Redistricting will determine the voting power of our neighborhoods, towns, and cities for the next ten years,” Quickmire said. “That’s why it’s so important that we, the people, have a say in how our maps are drawn. When the people are involved, we can be sure that maps are drawn to benefit us, not the politicians.”
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CT Mirror: Delayed by COVID, Connecticut’s redistricting ramps up
Redistricting traditionally has been conducted out of the public eye, brokered by Democratic and Republican legislative caucus leaders sensitive to the wants and needs of incumbents — namely, district maps that will enhance chances for re-election, not invite competition.
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CT News Junkie: Redistricting Committee Seeks Public Input
The Connecticut Reapportionment Committee will conduct a hearing in Hartford at the Legislative Office Building 7 p.m., Sept. 8. A second hearing will be held at the town hall in Norwich 1 p.m., Sept. 9. The third event will take place at the city hall in Shelton at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13. Meanwhile, the committee scheduled a virtual hearing for 7 p.m., Sept. 14.