We the people – not politicians – should draw voting maps
The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes in putting our best democracy foot forward. We know that we deserve the best possible government and we invest the energy to achieve it. Oregon led the fight for direct election of Senators to Congress, pioneered vote-by-mail and has one of the nation’s most engaged citizenry. Now we are reforming Oregon’s redistricting process.
The League has joined the People Not Politicians campaign, a diverse coalition made up of all party affiliations, income levels, backgrounds, identities, and all corners of Oregon, to rally for equal, fair and transparent representation at the state and congressional level.
Oregon voters should be choosing their representatives-
representatives should not get to choose their voters.
The League supports redistricting reform that would make our system less susceptible to abuse and unrepresentative distortions. With an independent redistricting commission, we would take the process of redistricting out of the hands of partisan politicians and back into the hands of voters. To defend the principles of good government against potential gerrymandering, our proposal combines a multipartisan independent commission with strong criteria and substantial public input. As we approach the 2020 census and the potential of adding a sixth congressional district to Oregon, we need to make sure district boundaries are fair. Biased political goals can manipulate this process and affect election outcomes at state and national levels.
For more information check the LWV-OR site.
Download the flyer here.
Here is a very thorough explanation of the redistricting process.
Another explanation of the redistricting process from a Loyola Law School professor.