In 2008, I led efforts to fundamentally change California’s redistricting process.
With an unusual coalition of left, right and center allies, we created the nation’s first independent citizens redistricting commission. The power to draw voting maps was taken from politicians and given to people like you and me.
Today our redistricting process is independent and community-led with the goal of keeping communities together in the new maps. No longer behind closed doors, drawing voting lines is conducted openly and transparently.

“Bob Phillips is what’s good about politics,” Dennis Wicker told The News & Observer in an interview. Wicker, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor from 1993 to 2000 and considered Phillips a trusted advisor, then and now.
“He understands public service starts with fair elections and open elections,” Wicker said. “He’s a true believer that great public service is born from a strong and fair democracy.”

Boston's rally was bipartisan, with not only Democrats invited to speak but also former Massachusetts Republican Gov. William Weld, who is challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, said Pam Wilmot, the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, one of the organizers.
"We want to demonstrate that people care about this, that the rule of law is important and that our country will not stand for a fake trial and just sweeping this under the rug," Wilmot said. "This is a serious matter. It should not be about...

The political maps of the past decade have favored rural voters, said Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director Bob Phillips. Rural voters tend to support Republicans, and the maps were drawn to cement Republicans’ power. Plus, he said, many of North Carolina’s most powerful lawmakers are from rural areas themselves.
Phillips, who is an advocate for redistricting reform, said he is still trying to convince Republican leaders like them to pass reforms in the next few months, before the 2020 elections. In part, he said, he...

Zwei weitere Republikaner im Repräsentantenhaus haben ihren Rücktritt angekündigt. Damit treten über ein Dutzend Republikaner im Repräsentantenhaus 2020 nicht mehr zur Wiederwahl an. Suzanne Almeida vom Common Cause Redistricting Counsel erklärt, welche Rolle die Neugliederung der Wahlbezirke bei ihrer Entscheidung gespielt haben könnte.

Die Anti-Gerrymandering-Gruppe Common Cause North Carolina war Klägerin in dem Rechtsstreit um die Wahlkreise im Parlament, nicht im Kongress. Ihr Geschäftsführer Bob Phillips war am Montag dennoch vor Gericht anwesend, um den Prozess zu verfolgen. Er sagte, er werde sich weiterhin für dauerhafte Reformen im Parlament einsetzen, damit künftige Wahlkreise mit „deutlich stärkerer Beteiligung der Bevölkerung“ festgelegt und so möglicherweise viele rechtliche Auseinandersetzungen vermieden werden könnten.
„Ich denke, es gibt in Sachen Transparenz noch viel Raum für Verbesserungen“, sagte Phillips …

Warum ist das besser? Man denke nur daran, wie Präsidentschaftsvorwahlen im aktuellen System funktionieren. Wir spielen ständig mit unseren Stimmen herum, versuchen herauszufinden, wer eine allgemeine Wahl gewinnen kann oder wer in Iowa die besten Chancen hat, statt für jemanden zu stimmen, den wir wollen, weil uns gefällt, wofür er steht. Wie oft müssen wir noch Meinungsbeiträge darüber lesen, ob eine Frau oder eine farbige Person wählbar ist? Bei der Rangfolgewahl können Sie mit Ihrem Herzen und Ihrem Verstand abstimmen – ohne Angst haben zu müssen, eines von beiden zu sabotieren.

“It’s extremely troubling,” said Beth Rotman of Common Cause, a group that filed complaints Federal Election Commission and Department of Justice complaints about the Parnas and Fruman donations. “The money should absolutely be returned. It shows a really problematic appearance of a conflict [of interest].”

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, is among those questioning even the narrow campaign finance analysis. Common Cause has filed a complaint with the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission accusing Trump of violating campaign law. It wouldn't have been difficult for the government to determine how much money Ukraine would have spent in an investigation of Joe Biden and his son, he said. "That would give them a dollar amount to show that Trump solicited 'something of value,'" Ryan said.