News Clips

Ann Webb says the Republican maps amount to a power grab and suppress the voices of voters, especially in Black communities. Webb is policy director with Common Cause North Carolina, a government watchdog group. ANN WEBB: We know that all voters deserve to have their vote count equally, and that is not what these maps do. And it is clear that that was not the intent of the legislative leadership.

The “issues that we’re seeing focused on in the legislature also do not reflect the views and priorities of most North Carolinians,” Ann Webb with Common Cause North Carolina said at a Wednesday news conference. “When you create noncompetitive legislative maps, you lose accountability to the voters.”

Catherine Turcer, executive director for Common Cause Ohio, an organization dedicated to pro-democracy efforts, said that the organization supports the reproductive freedom amendment and that the board’s summary is too partisan. “It’s not fair to the voters of Ohio who go to the polls expecting accurate, neutral information,” Turcer said.

Jay Heck, executive director of government watchdog group Common Cause of Wisconsin, said the fact that Republicans put the plan on such a fast track makes supporters of nonpartisan maps suspicious. “A month ago, there was no even inkling that most Republican members of the Legislature were supportive of redistricting reform,” he said. “And so the matter of believability and trust, I think, really comes into play here as we begin this process.”

“Having fair maps makes elected politicians responsive to the needs and wants of the people by having elections where voters make the calls,” Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said following Tuesday’s ruling. “We deserve better, and the law demands better, than the current voting maps that prevent Georgia’s communities on the margins of society from having a meaningful say in the halls of Congress.”

Dan Vicuna, director of redistricting and representation with Common Cause, said the solution to extreme gerrymandering is establishment of a nonpartisan system or commission with broad representation to draw up districts - which only exists in a handful of states. "The public understands that whether you're kept in one district with a community that shares concerns of all sorts can really make the difference between having a champion in the halls of power - or not having a champion," he explained.