News Clips

But it’s not just blue California. Michigan, four other states and 82 jurisdictions throughout the country have moved to independent redistricting. Why? Because voters should have the power to choose their leaders, not the other way around. And because voters should be able to participate in decisions that will affect the future for themselves and their families for the next decade. In state after state, people are deciding whether they want to allow elected leaders to put their power and partisanship above the people’s interest or give people the power to put our communities first.

Virginia Kase Solomón - Common Cause President and CEO Solomón, who came to Common Cause in February, has backed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a stalled effort to modernize the 1965 Voting Rights Act meant to combat voter suppression. First job: Blockbuster Video. Worst career advice she ever received: “To be more realistic about my goals because I was a teenage mom and I should be happy just to have a steady income.” Song currently on repeat: “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa.

Aaron Scherb Common Cause Senior Director, Legislative Affairs Scherb helps craft pro-democratic reforms in such areas as redistricting, campaign finance, and voting rights, coordinating with Congress members and allies on drafts for proposed legislation. Hometown: South Bend, Indiana. First job: Delivering newspapers for the South Bend Tribune. Lesson from that job: “People appreciated and often recognized the small things, like making sure their newspaper was fully wrapped in plastic when it was raining or snowing.”

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.”

"For the future of our commonwealth, we must take action to ensure that our districts are drawn transparently, fairly and in a way that is representative of the people of Pennsylvania," said Philip Hensley-Robin, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania.

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.