Media Center

Today, a panel of Common Cause’s redistricting experts briefed the media on the major victories local communities are winning in their efforts to transform redistricting into a citizen-led process.

Today, redistricting experts from Common Cause and Southern Coalition for Social Justice’s briefed the media on the state-level victories in the fight to secure fair maps and protect voting rights.

The fight for voting rights does not end tonight. It is up to the Senate to fix this, and nobody is giving up. The 48 Senators who voted tonight to protect the right of every American to vote are not giving up. The advocates, the voters, and Common Cause and our allies are not giving up. Our nation is stronger when every one of us has a voice in choosing our elected officials. The fight for voting rights will continue – in the Senate and in statehouses across the country.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, “to ensure that voters can safely and freely cast their ballots, repair and strengthen the Voting Rights Act, protect against election sabotage, stop partisan and racial gerrymandering, and limit the influence of dark money in politics so that billionaires can’t buy elections.” The letter emphasizes that already this year, 19 states have enacted 34 restrictive voting laws that make it harder for Americans – particularly in Black and Brown communities - to have a say in choosing their elected leaders. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.   

In the United States, we are stronger when every American votes, when every American has a say in the future of this country. President Biden made very clear today that he knows we are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history and that a Republican minority in the U.S. Senate must not be allowed to turn back the clock and allow a new generation of Jim Crow laws to take root. He clearly stated that the Senate rules must not tolerated when they strip Americans – particularly Black and Brown Americans - of their fundamental right to vote. Those rules must be changed if they are abused. Simple majorities in state legislatures are deciding who can vote and who cannot while the filibuster has allowed a minority in the Senate to prevent Congress from acting to prevent voter suppression and protect the voting rights of every American.

ATLANTA – Voting rights groups and Georgia voters filed a lawsuit in federal court today charging that the 6th, 13th, and 14th Congressional Districts of Georgia violate the Constitution and unlawfully diminish the voting power of voters of color. The case, Common Cause, et al. v. Brad Raffensperger, et al., was brought on behalf of Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Georgia, and individual Georgians. They are being represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Dechert LLP.