[EL] Rohrabacher and Lowenthal Introduce Congressional Bill to Protect Independent Redistricting

[Dan Vicuna]

Just wanted to give the list a heads up about a bill just introduced in anticipation of the decision in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

News Advisory                                                                                                  Contact:
May 21, 2015                                                                                                      Aaron Scherb at (202) 736-5726 or ascherb at commoncause.org<mailto:ascherb at commoncause.org>
Dan Vicuna at (213) 623-1216 or dvicuna at commoncause.org<mailto:dvicuna at commoncause.org>

Rohrabacher and Lowenthal Introduce Congressional Bill to Protect Independent Redistricting

Today U.S. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) introduced H.R. 2501, the Citizens' Districts Preservation Act. This bill would preserve until after the next census Congressional districts drawn by citizen-led independent and bipartisan commissions created to end gerrymandering. Although state legislatures draw Congressional districts in most of the U.S., several states have created alternative processes that prioritize fair representation and bipartisan cooperation over political advantage.

Facts about this bill:

*         Original co-sponsors include nine Democrats and seven Republicans.

*         Prohibits redrawing Congressional districts in six states with districts drawn by an independent or bipartisan commission after the last census. These states include Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, and Washington.

*         Protects against the potential fallout from Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision. This case threatens to give state legislatures a monopoly over the drawing of Congressional maps by prohibiting citizens from creating independent redistricting systems.

For more information, contact Aaron Scherb at (202) 736-5726 or ascherb at commoncause.org<mailto:ascherb at commoncause.org> or Dan Vicuna at (213) 623-1216 or dvicuna at commoncause.org<mailto:dvicuna at commoncause.org>.



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