FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT
Norman Turrill (503) 807-4863

PORTLAND—Following the Oregon Legislature’s passage of legislative and congressional district maps through a highly partisan process, People Not Politicians will begin initial signature gathering this week to put Initiative Petition 16 (IP 16) to create an independent citizens’ redistricting commission on the November 2022 ballot

“The Oregon legislature has once again demonstrated the need for an independent citizens’ redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative district lines, ” said Norman Turrill, Chair of People Not Politicians. “The promise of fair representation should not be a pawn in a partisan political game. We need to reform this process to create a fair system so that Oregon voters are choosing their politicians, instead of politicians choosing their voters.”

Prior to yesterday’s partisan passage of the new maps, only twice since 1911 had the Oregon legislature passed a redistricting plan that became the final adopted plan.

Legislators clearly did not follow their own statute. ORS 188.016(2)(a) requires five hearings on “a” final reapportionment plan. Legislators held 12 hearings on three dueling plans released on September 3. They then released new maps in late September, yet held no hearings on the final maps at which the public was allowed to testify.

“The task of drawing legislative and congressional maps is highly political, shaping power and resources for a decade. It doesn’t work to have elected officials draw their own districts, no matter how well intentioned they are. It’s like having athletes serve as their own referee,” said Kate Titus, Executive Director for Common Cause Oregon. “Redistricting works best in the hands of an independent body, focused on communities of interest rather than political party interests.”

Oregonians support creating an independent citizens’ redistricting commission. In late 2019, People Not Politicians enlisted Lake Research Partners to run a statewide poll. Results showed an average 76% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, and 60% of Republicans favor an independent citizens’ commission.

Initiative Petition 16 would put into place a 12-member multi-partisan independent citizens’ redistricting commission. The commission would consist of four Democrats, four Republicans and four others who are third party members or non-affiliated voters to redraw district lines in 2024. Third-party and non-affiliated voters are now the largest sector of registered voters in Oregon, about 40% of the electorate.

Initiative Petition 16 is similar to 2020’s IP 57, which narrowly fell short of making the ballot only after Oregon Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed numerous legal challenges and delayed the process all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This measure reforms the process to draw districts in a fair, open, and a balanced multi-partisan way, so Oregonians can have a better voice in their representation,” said Turrill.

The People Not Politicians coalition includes a full spectrum of Oregon voices for an independent citizens’ redistricting commission: Common Cause Oregon, the League of Women Voters of Oregon, the Independent Party of Oregon, the Oregon Progressive Party, the NAACP, the Oregon Farm Bureau, OSPIRG, AAUW of Oregon, PDX Forward, Standup America, multiple business groups, and tens of thousands of Oregonians.

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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.

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