MEDIA CONTACT
Norman Turrill (503) 807-4863

People Not Politicians Files New Initiative for 2022 Ballot to Create Independent Citizens’ Redistricting Commission

SALEM, Ore. — Today, People Not Politicians, a broad and diverse coalition of Oregon voters and organizations concerned about good government, filed Initiative Petition 16 for the November 2022 General Election ballot to reform Oregon’s redistricting process through the creation of an independent citizens’ redistricting commission.

“An overwhelming majority of Oregonians support the creation of an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw Oregon’s state and congressional maps and put people, not politicians, in charge of this process,” said Norman Turrill, chair of People Not Politicians and Chief Petitioner of the new initiative petition. “If the legislature fails to act this session, we are prepared with an initiative petition to bring forth the fair and transparent reform Oregonians want for our state.”

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.

At its simplest, IP16 would introduce mid-decade redistricting reform to change the way Oregon’s voting districts are drawn by creating an independent citizen’s redistricting commission comprised of Oregon voters, rather than politicians. The commission process would begin immediately following the 2022 general election for a complete redistricting of the state legislative and congressional districts in time for elections in 2024.

The new initiative petition is similar to IP 57 filed by People Not Politicians for the November 2020 ballot. That effort was nearly successful after a federal judge last year found the coalition exercised “reasonable diligence” in attempting to qualify for the ballot with over 64,000 signatures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the district court decision. This court case is continuing in the federal district court.

The People Not Politicians coalition includes a full spectrum of Oregon’s voices for an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission: Common Cause Oregon, the League of Women Voters, the Independent Party of Oregon, the NAACP, the Taxpayers Association of Oregon, the Oregon Farm Bureau and others.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Norman Turrill, Chair, People Not Politicians, (503) 386-7996
Kathay Feng, Common Cause, (310) 880-6668

People Not Politicians responds to ruling by Ninth Circuit Court

SALEM, Ore. — On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit remanded People Not Politicians Oregon v. Clarno to the Federal District Court for further factual determinations on whether the District Court’s original order is moot given upcoming election deadlines.

People Not Politicians prevailed in Federal District Court on July 10 when Judge Michael McShane recognized the diligence of the People Not Politicians signature-gathering campaign under extreme pandemic circumstances and ruled in favor of protecting the first amendment rights of Oregonians to sign the initiative.

Norman Turrill, Chair of People Not Politicians and Chief Petitioner of IP 57, made the following statement:

“People Not Politicians is committed to ensuring that the 2021 redistricting process is fair, transparent and impartial and will continue to work toward an independent citizens redistricting commission in Oregon.

 

The Ninth Circuit did not rule on the question of whether IP 57 should be placed on the November ballot. Rather, given the time left to place an initiative on the ballot, the court raised questions about whether IP 57 could make it to the ballot in time for the November 3, 2020 election.

 

People Not Politicians, a broad, diverse coalition of organizations and individuals from across the state has run an extraordinary campaign under unprecedented circumstances of a public health pandemic. More importantly, tens of thousands of Oregonians have raised their hands to say that they want a redistricting process that puts people, not politicians, in charge of drawing district lines.

 

We will pursue our case at the District Court and continue our efforts to ensure an impartial and open redistricting for Oregonians.”

On July 30, the Oregon’s Secretary of State determined that PNP submitted enough valid signatures to meet the threshold set by Federal District Court Judge McShane in his July 10 order.

IP 57, filed in November 2019, would create the Oregon Citizens Redistricting Commission and put redistricting in the hands of voters, not our politicians.

The initiative campaign coalition is led by the League of Women Voters of Oregon, Common Cause Oregon, Oregon Farm Bureau, the Independent Party of Oregon, NAACP Eugene/Springfield Branch, OSPIRG, Oregon’s Progressive Party, the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, and tens of thousands of Oregonians who support the effort to remove conflicts of interest from drawing voting lines.

Adam Lauridsen, David J. Rosen, Jay Rapaport, and Tara M. Rangchi of Keker, Van Nest and Peters lead the legal team in the Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court. Common Cause attorneys Dan Vicuna, Suzanne Almeida, Kathay Feng, law clerks Alton Wang and Michael Guggenheim, along with Steve Elzinga of Sherman, Sherman, Johnnie and Hoyt contributed.

Learn more about the campaign’s historic effort at www.PeopleNotPoliticiansOregon.com.

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As the nation grapples with its legacy of racism and how to move toward a just society, the right to vote and be fairly represented becomes even more critical.

In Oregon we have an opportunity to reform how voting districts are created and reduce the risk of gerrymandering. During June you can sign an initiative petition for the November ballot that would create an independent commission to draw state and federal legislative districts after the 2020 census.

Boundaries are drawn by the Oregon Legislature or, if it fails to act, by the secretary of state. In other words, politicians, not voters, create the districts that elect them. This is a conflict of interest that has often resulted in gerrymandering. The initiative replaces politicians with a committee of Democratic, Republican and Independent voters.

A coalition of groups, including the Eugene Springfield NAACP, League of Women Voters and Oregon Farm Bureau are leading this effort. If you received a petition in the mail, follow the instructions for signing and mail it in the postage-paid envelope. If you didn’t receive the petition, get one at peoplenotpoliticiansoregon.com. Signing the petition is one important, concrete thing you can do to strengthen voting rights.

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You are probably overwhelmed with our collective need to make our communities, cities, states and nation better and safer. In the midst of the ongoing fight against racial injustice, economic chaos and the pandemic, I ask you not to forget the need to fix our broken election system. Every state needs to tackle the problems created by gerrymandering, which allows the politically most powerful to draw the lines that shape our voting districts, which is how the people who represent you are voted into power. We need to take this power away from the politically most powerful in an effort to create a fair election process. Without this, your vote, your voice, your candidates can be effectively silenced. This has happened across the country.

Here in Oregon, and other states, we are fighting back. Please go to peoplenotpoliticiansoregon.com, read about the issue, then print, sign and mail in a petition designed to get Proposition 57 on the November ballot (you can also ask to have a petition sent to you). Proposition 57 would create an independent non-partisan commission to draw new voting maps for Oregon. I am a volunteer with Common Cause Oregon, one of a number of organizations working to get Proposition 57 on the ballot. Fundamental to the cause of justice is having representatives who believe in the cause of justice. Please help. Make sure your voice and vote count.

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Oregonians trust politicians to make decisions about what taxes are collected, how taxes are spent and policies that shape lives. But should politicians be trusted with setting up voting districts?

A proposed ballot measure aims to take politicians out of political redistricting. The measure would create a citizen commission to draw the lines. Would it be more fair? That’s unclear.

The new census will mean Oregon’s congressional and legislative districts will be redrawn. In Oregon, the districts are now redrawn by legislators. That could be putting the fox in charge of the henhouse — at least that’s what the groups supporting a citizen commission argue. The measure is backed by the League of Women Voters of Oregon, Oregon Common Cause, the Independent Party, The Taxpayer Association of Oregon and more.

It would work like this: It creates an independent, multipartisan commission of 12 Oregonians. They would hold public meetings across the state and draw up the boundaries in an open process. The goal is it would be done fairly, respecting communities and less manipulated by partisanship or other politics.

The proposal takes substantial steps to keep politicians out of it. People would apply for the commission spots. Basically paid politicians couldn’t be chosen. People who have recently run for such offices couldn’t be chosen. Neither could their staff. Political consultants are barred. An individual who has given more than $2,700 a year to any single candidate couldn’t be chosen. There are also requirements to limit the members from the two largest political parties and include nonaffiliated voters. From the pool of applicants, candidates for the commission would be winnowed by administrative law judges and would eventually be chosen by lot. The governor could remove someone from the commission, but only with a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

If you are interested, you should read the full text of the proposal, not just how we or its advocates summarize it. The website is www.peoplenotpoliticiansoregon.com. Supporters are trying to gather enough signatures to get it on the ballot.

Gerrymandering began before it was called gerrymandering, before the country’s independence. It’s the idea of drawing a voting district so it will get a certain kind of candidate elected. The name was immortalized in a political cartoon satirizing a law signed by Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry in 1812. The law redrew state senate districts to ensure Gerry’s party — Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans — would be strong and John Adams’ and Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists would be weak. It worked. One of the districts looked a bit like a salamander. Gerrymander was born.

The U.S. Supreme Court has been reluctant to decide when partisanship goes too far in gerrymandering. It would require two things difficult for the courts: defining what is fair and divining the future. What’s a clear test for fairness? There are many different ways to measure what’s fair. Fair to whom? Fair to what? As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, choosing one “poses basic questions that are political, not legal.” The courts would also have to look at a district and somehow know that in the future the outcomes it creates would turn out to be unfair — by some definition. It’s additionally unclear that the founders intended judges to decide such things.

These days, leaning on big data, political consultants have more tools than ever to draw up districts to get an outcome they want. Does Oregon need to change? Oregonians could do nothing. If legislators are making the redistricting decisions, they can be held accountable by voters, though it would be mostly after the districts are drawn.

An independent redistricting commission creates a way to try to minimize the influence of some politicians on the process. Commissioners will still have to make choices about defining what is fair. They will still have to guess if sticking the lines in one place will produce more “fair” outcomes in the future. We don’t know if the commission would be more fair. It might. It would get more Oregonians involved in making important decisions about how they are governed.

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