News Clips

“The Reapportionment Commission must take all necessary steps to make sure the new district maps are drawn in a fair and transparent process the public can easily understand,” John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said in a statement.

“Maintaining communities of interest intact in redistricting maps should be second only to compliance with the United States Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act as a consideration in redistricting,” according to redistricting principles outlined by the watchdog group Common Cause.

Deadlines aren't as important as transparency and public input, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, which pushed for redistricting reform via two constitutional amendments.   "It is not the end of the world if they miss the deadline," Turcer said. "It is a problem if they don’t lay out a plan and address public concerns about a secretive process."

Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois, said the maps the Legislature will vote on Tuesday “will not be crafted of public input, but of pure politics.” “At each opportunity in this redistricting process, it’s as if lawmakers went out of their way to ensure the creation of these maps had as little public input as possible,” Young said.

“We think our process will produce better maps -- maps that better serve the interests of voters and communities,” said Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, which helped form the citizens commission. Dan Vicuna, national redistricting manager for Common Cause, said there are efforts underway across the country “trying to shame the legislature into doing the right thing.” But if lawmakers don’t adopt citizens’ redistricting suggestions, “we think it could be more powerful to judges, who have less of a partisan stake in how these districts are drawn,” Vicuna said.

“We should have representation that reflects the composition of the state,” said Aunna Dennis, executive director for the government accountability organization Common Cause Georgia. “That could mean districts that look more red, more purple or more blue. That should be a reflection of the ideology of the community.”