News Clips

Attorneys for groups such as Common Cause Florida and the Florida NAACP and other plaintiffs filed a motion Wednesday urging a three-judge panel to look again at whether the redistricting plan was passed in 2022 with a racially discriminatory motive. Wednesday’s motion for reconsideration said the judges incorrectly found that DeSantis’ intent “was all but irrelevant.” The lawsuit alleged that the map involved intentional discrimination and violated the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment ensures equal protection, while the 15th Amendment prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on race. “First, the court erred by treating the governor as an outsider to the legislative process,” Wednesday’s motion said. “Unlike private citizens advocating for legislative action, the governor is himself a state actor directly subject to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. He may not discriminate on the basis of race when using state authority, any more than the Legislature can. No case law supports the notion that, where multiple state actors act jointly to bring about the challenged conduct, all of them must be driven by illegal consideration of race.”

Until we pass a constitutional amendment creating an independent redistricting commission, the power will always reside with partisan interests of those drawing our district voting maps. It’s time for us to get the power back. Reforms should come from us, impacted Minnesotans, not legislative or party establishment.   

Viewers of a certain age may remember the movie the "Never Ending Story." Well, all New Yorkers are familiar with the state's own never-ending story — redistricting. For reaction to the latest addition to this saga, Capital Tonight was joined Tuesday by Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.

Common Cause Wisconsin hailed the signing of the maps, writing in a statement that “the citizens and voters of Wisconsin have prevailed.”

“Democrats were champing at the bit to have these maps six months ago, now they wish they had a chance to get a better court-approved map,” said Jay Heck, executive director or Common Cause in Wisconsin and a backer of the legislation. “C’mon. What’s he going to do, veto his own maps?”

Good-government groups applauded the possibility of a legislative agreement, largely because it brings about stability and a measure of political certainty until the next redistricting process, after the 2030 census. Besides, said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, “The governor’s maps are pretty darn good.”