Turrill is president of League of Women Voters of Oregon Advocacy Fund Governance Coordinator and past president of League of Women Voters. He chairs the People Not Politicians campaign committee. Titus is the executive director of Common Cause Oregon, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization.

Oregonians should choose their representatives.

This simple concept is the basis of our electoral system. It is embedded in the U.S. Constitution’s opening three words, “We the People.” And it is the principle behind a series of ballot initiatives that could reshape Oregon’s political future.

Under current Oregon law, state legislators redraw the boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts after each census to adjust for population changes. This once-in-a-decade system was designed to ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people.

In the 2020 census, Oregon is projected to gain another U.S. congressional seat due to population growth, which means not only will we have a new district and a new electoral vote, but all five of our existing congressional district boundaries will radically change in shape and size. Not only are congressional districts redrawn, but so are the 90 state representative and state senate seats that make up Oregon’s Legislature. Every single Oregonian will be impacted – every single Oregonian should be represented.

These significant changes make the need for a fairer process more important than ever.

Letting politicians draw their own voting maps is an inherent conflict of interest, like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Politicians in power shouldn’t be allowed to draw voting maps that benefit themselves, but that’s exactly what the process allows for now. We need to reform the process to create a fair system so that Oregon voters are choosing their politicians, instead of politicians choosing their voters.

A diverse coalition, People Not Politicians, has united across party, identity and geographic lines to propose a fair and transparent redistricting system that puts everyday Oregonians in charge of drawing these districts. We are asking voters to support a series of measures proposed for the November ballot that would create an independent citizen redistricting commission to draw Oregon’s voting maps in 2021 and beyond.

The independent citizen redistricting commission would be made up of ordinary Oregonians — four members of the state’s largest party, four of the second largest party, and four registered voters unaffiliated with either major party. No lobbyists or consultants, big dollar political donors, party officers or elected officials would be allowed to serve.

The commission would draw district borders with respect to geographic and voter diversity, reflecting city, county or other natural boundaries, as well as language, racial or other communities of interest. Favoritism or discrimination against any political party or office holder is prohibited. Perhaps most importantly, the entire process would be completed with full transparency and public meetings held across the state, instead of behind closed doors in the Capitol.

This reform would put Oregon at the forefront of history. We are the latest voice in the chorus of activists across the United States calling for people, not politicians, to be the center of the redistricting process.

Oregon is known for its ballot initiative process which gives ordinary voters the ultimate say in the biggest issues facing our state. Likewise, our coalition of unexpected allies – which includes nonpartisan groups Common Cause and League of Women Voters, the Independent Party of Oregon, NAACP, the Taxpayer Association of Oregon and the Oregon Farm Bureau – wants to put people, not politicians, in charge of drawing our maps.

To be clear, this reform isn’t about taking power from one party and giving it to the other. The goal is to give Oregonians the opportunity for a fair, transparent process by which voting lines are drawn which will allow for more competitive primaries and general elections, for historically marginalized communities to be represented and for elected officials to be held accountable to their voters. It’s about unrigging the electoral system and holding our officials accountable to the growing number of people who call Oregon home.

Oregonians face a choice – to let politicians draw districts in a way that serve their own interests, or to reform Oregon’s redistricting process with a fair and transparent process to draw districts that represent all Oregonians.

After all, the Constitution does not begin with the words “We the Politicians.” In fair elections, voters pick their leaders, not the other way around.

The post Opinion: Oregonians, not politicians, should draw our electoral districts appeared first on People Not Politicians.

The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. For generations, activists have fought first to gain that right and then to protect it — marching in our streets, organizing our communities and running and getting elected to the halls of power.

We understand that the right to vote is more than just the ability to cast a ballot. When the outcomes of elections are foregone conclusions because politicians have chosen their voters, rather than the other way around, our right to vote doesn’t mean nearly as much.

That’s why we are supporting a series of ballot measures that would change the way state legislative and congressional districts are drawn in Oregon and put the power where it belongs: with Oregon voters.

According to Oregon law, state legislators are responsible for drawing the boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts after each census to adjust for population changes. Because it looks likely that Oregon will gain a sixth congressional district following the 2020 Census, it is even more important that the process for drawing districts is fair, transparent and driven by everyday Oregonians.

The ballot measures would take redistricting out of the hands of politicians by creating an independent, multi-partisan redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative lines. Commissioners would be everyday Oregonians, elected or appointed officials, political party leaders, lobbyists, major donors or their close family members would be prohibited from serving on the commission. The commission would be required to follow strict mapmaking criteria that prioritizes ensuring that racial or language groups have equal opportunities to elect the candidates of their choice and protecting communities of interest. Final maps would have to be approved by a multi-partisan majority of commissioners in order to ensure that no one party can gerrymander.

Importantly, the commission would be required to hold multiple public hearings across the state to gather information about the communities where Oregonians live, accept public comment and testimony and explain their decisions in a final report where they must respond directly to public input. This is to ensure that the hearings are meaningful and that the commission actually takes into account the input of Oregonians.

When people think of Oregon, they do not generally associate it with gerrymandering. And that’s fair. Compared to some states, Oregon’s districts aren’t terrible. But this reform is about more than fixing strangely shaped districts. It’s about putting people — not politicians — in charge of the process of drawing districts. And it’s about ensuring that communities are protected and that all voters have an equal opportunity to elect someone who shares their lived experiences.

In having conversations about this reform with friends and allies, I am often asked why I am choosing to spend my time working on this rather than focusing on other, equally important issues, especially in a blue state like Oregon.

First, redistricting is driven by who is at the table. When legislators draw the maps, communities of color and legislators of color are often the ones traded away.

Second, I would have little hesitation in backing this reform in a state like Alabama or Mississippi — why should the fact that the Oregon Legislature is majority Democrat have any bearing on whether the reform makes sense?

Redistricting reform isn’t about building or breaking down power for Republicans or Democrats. It’s about ensuring that we the people have the power. That’s why an independent redistricting commission makes sense for Oregon.

Eric Richardson is the executive director of the Eugene/Springfield NAACP. He lives in Eugene.

The post Guest View: Redistricting reform keeps the power with the people appeared first on People Not Politicians.

By Kate Titus
Titus is executive director of Common Cause Oregon, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization.

If there is one thing Oregonians can agree on, it is that our vote should count. We lead the nation in registering voters automatically and our vote-by-mail system produces voter turnout that outpaces other states.

Why then do we allow our votes to be silenced? Both Democratic and Republican legislators in Oregon and across the country have proven themselves incapable of putting the voters’ interests ahead of their own when they draw congressional and legislative maps.

The practice, known as gerrymandering, is as old as the Republic, but looks very different in our data-driven digital age. Partisan map-makers use scientific data to pack supporters of the opposing party into as few districts as possible to limit their clout or spread them over several districts to dilute their power. Sometimes legislators from opposing parties even work together – in what’s known as a bipartisan gerrymander – divvying up districts, making them “safe” for one party or the other, but leaving many voters with little chance of meaningful competition or choice.

Oregon legislators aren’t the worst gerrymanderers in the country, but there is evidence of an imbalance. Oregon Democrats hold four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to one for the Republicans, which equates to winning 80 percent of the congressional seats with 58 percent of the vote.

All in all, 17 states impose greater checks and balances on redistricting, including seven states that empower citizen commissions to draw congressional maps. But Oregon puts the foxes in charge of the henhouse. We can do better.

Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, has proposed a bill this legislative session that provides a good starting point for state redistricting reform. Senate Joint Resolution 11 would empower an independent citizen commission to draw the lines. The commissioners would be ordinary voters, with no conflicts of interest and equal representation for political parties and independents. Map-makers would take testimony from people across the state and draw lines guided by community interest and not the interests of any party or candidate. The bill, which proposes a constitutional amendment, should advance and go to voters in November 2020.

To be sure, politicians will not give up the power to gerrymander without a fight. And we may see a range of reform proposals – some stronger than others. A redistricting proposal that strips the power from state legislators, only to hand it to county politicians for example, does not solve the problem. We need true reform that puts power in the hands of citizens, removes conflicts of interest, and ensures full transparency.

But here’s some good news. Even as we must work locally for reform, the U.S. Supreme Court could soon help.

Last month, the court heard oral arguments against two egregious cases of gerrymandering, one benefiting Republicans in North Carolina, the other giving advantage to Democrats in Maryland.

In Rucho v. Common Cause, my nonpartisan watchdog organization argued that North Carolina Republicans violated the Constitutional rights of Democrats through an extreme partisan gerrymander that gave the GOP a 10-3 advantage in House seats despite earning just over half of the votes. In Lamone v. Benisek, which was originated by a Common Cause member, plaintiffs argued that Maryland Democrats violated the First Amendment rights of Republicans when they redrew a congressional district to flip it from red to blue.

Many legal observers came away from the arguments optimistic that the justices agreed these were the best test cases to end partisan gerrymandering. Every justice on the court, conservative and liberal alike, started from the place that partisan gerrymandering is a real problem for our democracy and asked questions demonstrating their interest in discussing what a national standard could look like.

By June, we hope the high court will strike down gerrymandering and declare the practice illegal and unconstitutional nationwide. Oregon would still be wise to require a transparent citizen-driven mapping process. A definitive Supreme Court decision will accelerate Oregon’s people-powered movement and provide the legal backing a citizen commission needs to enforce impartial maps.

Now is the time to unrig system. In our country’s history, there has never been a moment in which the U.S. Supreme Court appeared closer to stopping gerrymandering. The justices must finally recognize that only their action can prevent highly scientific gerrymanders from depriving all Americans of fundamental democratic rights.

Oregonians can bring their spirit of reform to redistricting and hold elected officials accountable on Election Day. A definitive decision by the high court would provide strong legal backing. A transparent citizen-driven commission would provide the process. Our voters should pick their politicians, not the other way around.

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