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Common Cause Pennsylvania announced that after further analysis they have found no violations of the Voting Rights Act in the new congressional map issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb. 19.

The American public must have confidence in the leadership of Census Bureau to ensure everyone is counted accurately. Public outrage met reports that Thomas Brunell would be named deputy director, a slot that does not require Senate confirmation, but that he would in fact lead the Census. The controversy was well founded. Brunell’s controversial background as an academic who regular testified in support Republican gerrymanders would have politicized the national headcount.

As President Trump prepares to deliver his first State of the Union later this week, Common Cause and Democracy 21 are releasing a new report, “The Art of the Lie,” which pulls together a dizzying series of events and provides an overview of this unprecedented presidency. The report bundles together the crises, conflicts of interest, and new lows of the last year in 20 distinct issue areas to capture Trump’s failed first year record on matters of government integrity and accountability.

Every Pennsylvanian deserves a representative voice in Washington. Unfortunately our congressional delegation does not reflect the citizens of the Commonwealth because of the legislators who drew the maps for purely partisan gain.

Today, Common Cause filed a brief in Common Cause v. Rucho urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a stay request of a federal court ruling which ordered that the North Carolina Legislature redraw the state’s unconstitutionally gerrymandered congressional districts by January 24. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina Middle District ruled last week that the Legislature had unconstitutionally drawn congressional district lines with the intent and effect of creating a severe partisan advantage for one side.

Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in support of a challenge to the state’s extreme partisan political gerrymander. Despite a roughly equal split in votes between the parties in each election since the 2011 redistricting, Republicans have consistently won 13 of the state’s 18 congressional seats. If successful, the case could result in the Court ordering the redrawing of the districts before the 2018 election.