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For all media inquiries contact: Executive director Philip Hensley-Robin at 610-203-2364 or phensleyrobin@commoncause.org Communications strategist Dera Silvestre at dsilvestre@commoncause.org or 401-392-2390

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04.21.2018

Sunday News Show Discusses New Congressional Maps In PA

04.21.2018

Pennsylvania wants maps that are fair to voters

In our role as a leading non-partisan organization supporting redistricting reform, Common Cause Pennsylvania champions transparency and voter rights. We fight for solutions that enable disenfranchised residents to feel connected to the democracy that is supposed to serve our interests. Pennsylvanians want maps that are fair to all, and we believe the map the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved on Feb. 20 makes significant strides toward achieving that goal. The new map adheres to the Voting Rights Act and exhibits fairness, equality, and competitiveness. The state court’s map embraces neutral criteria that make it harder to manipulate districts for political advantage. These criteria include compactness, contiguity, keeping communities of interest together, and minimal county and municipal splits. We were pleased to see that the court prioritized the right of the people to fair representation over the partisanship that drove the creation of the previous congressional map. No map is perfect, but Pennsylvanians finally have districts that allow the people to hold our elected officials accountable. These districts are far more likely to produce a congressional delegation that accurately reflects Pennsylvania’s politics. This map advances democracy and representation for the 12.8 million residents of our state and will finally allow the voters to choose their representatives --- and not the other way around. The state Supreme Court is well within its rights to issue a map after ruling that congressional districts drawn in 2011 were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Both parties had a chance to submit a fair and balanced replacement map, but failed to arrive at a consensus. Instead, the legislature submitted a map that generated serious concern from voters because it did nothing to address the unfairness of the previous map. Republicans leaders announced that they are appealing the map to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their suit is a legal longshot and a waste of taxpayer dollars designed to reinstate a map that has already been deemed unconstitutional by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. We thank the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for forging an electoral map out of the ashes of the legislature’s failure so the people can once again vote in congressional districts that are fair and responsive. Rather than filing a lawsuit to revert to maps that failed to reflect our diverse communities, we call on all parties to come to the table in the spirit of transparency and bipartisanship and use the court's map as a starting point on any further discussions about preserving voter rights and ensuring the accurate representation of the residents of the Commonwealth. Recent developments have shown that Pennsylvania’s method for redistricting is extensively flawed. Under the current system, which will again be in place in 2021 despite this recent court victory, self-interested politicians can draw congressional districts behind closed doors for political advantage without regard to the needs of our communities. This system perpetuates the myth that control of redistricting is a political spoil of war to be weaponized against adversaries instead of an important democratic process that ensures fair and equal representation. We continue to join with our partners across the state in echoing the call to fix this undemocratic process. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue; for the sake of our commonwealth, it can’t be a partisan issue. Redistricting should not be left to the Legislature to carry out behind closed doors. It’s time for Pennsylvania to establish an independent commission of unbiased citizens with no direct personal or political stake in the outcome to direct the redistricting process. Let’s use the bitter process we just witnessed as incentive to chart a better course. Right now, we have a good map in place that addresses a lot of the concerns that have plagued our electoral process for more than six years. Fortunately, the map arrives in time to bring a renewed sense of fairness to primaries that are quickly approaching in the coming weeks. Voters should feel excited about this map --- empowered with the knowledge that they have a voice that counts when they elect representatives to the United States Congress. We encourage every eligible resident to get ready to vote on May 15. — Micah Sims is Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania

04.20.2018

Press Conference on Good Government Bills

Money & Influence 06.23.2016

MarcellusMoney.org Report Shows Gas Industry Contributions to PA Officials Remain Steady

Harrisburg – A new study finds that the natural gas industry continues to spend exorbitant amounts of money to influence Pennsylvania politicians – even in “off-year” election cycles. In 2015, the oil and gas industry spent over $8 million on lobbying. The total lobbying money spent by the industry since 2007 has been $55.9 million.

Ethics 03.25.2016

Common Cause Applauds Governor Wolf's Ethics Package

Major elements of Common Cause/PA’s long-standing government reform agenda came into play today when Gov. Wolf announced at a Pittsburgh press conference that he is pressing for sweeping reforms.

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