People Not Politicians announced that they have filed with the Oregon Secretary of State a proposed initiative petition for the November 2024 ballot to reform Oregon’s redistricting process -- which some have called dysfunctional and partisan -- and to replace it with an independent citizens’ commission. The initiative has been filed by Gary Wilhelms of Portland, Eric Richardson of Eugene, and Chris Telfer, Bend.

Currently, Oregon legislators are incentivized to gerrymander voting districts to re-elect incumbents in safe districts, thereby reducing political competition. This results in incumbents who are not accountable to voters. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave the 2021 congressional map, passed by the Oregon legislature along party-line majority, an “F” grade for its lack of competitive races.

“Oregonians deserve to have their legislative and congressional districts decided by citizens, not political partisans who are all too often beholden to monied interests. Our state and our nation are already far too divided, and intense partisanship around these boundary lines is a major factor in making this situation even worse. Let’s give some power back to the people,” said Phil Keisling, former Oregon Secretary of State.

The March 2022 voter registration report of the Secretary of State shows that, for the first time in state history, the largest single group of Oregon voters is not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties – yet that group of non-affiliated voters are mostly shut out of the redistricting process.

Creating an independent redistricting commission has been a consistent goal of reform-minded organizations who stand by the principle that legislators have a direct conflict of interest in drawing electoral lines that benefit incumbents.

The PNP coalition filed its previous initiative measure (IP 34) in April 2021 in the hopes of making the November 2022 election. However, legal challenges from allies of the elected officials of the state’s majority party kept the initiative tied up in court until it was too late for this year.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Supporters are more energized than ever. “The fact that certain interests went to great lengths to stop Oregonians from having a say in this fundamental democratic process is just another sign that partisan politics have gotten way off track. Let's come together and do what's right for the people of Oregon,” said Eric Richardson, former Executive Director of the Eugene Springfield National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and one of the initiative's three chief petitioners.

People Not Politicians filed Petition 2024-013 to amend the Oregon Constitution repealing sections 6 and 7, Article IV, and adopting a new section 6 and 7 establishing the Citizens Redistricting Commission of twelve members. It authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt rules to facilitate the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality and efficiency in selection of members. Secretary of State randomly selects by lot, six member commissioners meeting a criterion. Those six shall review the remaining names in the sub-pool and select the remaining six commissioners. It creates a Review Panel reflecting the diversity of this state consisting of administrative law judges or tribal court judges. Commissioners will hold at least 10 public hearings and approval final maps. The Oregon Supreme Court will review redistricting maps if any registered voter files a petition for review.

Petitioners anticipate that the initial qualification process could be completed as soon as January. The campaign can then begin in earnest to gather some 150,000 required valid voter signatures. They will have nearly a year and a half to accomplish this signature-gathering phase of the campaign.

People Not Politicians is a diverse coalition that has included the League of Women Voters of Oregon, Common Cause Oregon, Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, Oregon Farm Bureau, Independent Party of Oregon, OSPIRG, NAACP, Oregon Home Builders Association, Oregon Association of Nurseries, and The Klamath Tribal Council.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-08-25 11:35:55

Last Update: 2022-08-25 12:08:57