Jun 19, 2007 -- Reform Groups Urge Hearings on Congressional Redistricting

June 19, 2007

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler and
The Honorable Trent Franks
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
House Judiciary Committee
H2-362 Ford House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Franks:

We, the undersigned groups, strongly urge you to hold hearings this summer on the issues affecting congressional redistricting reform. Two bills on this important matter have been introduced this Congress: H.R. 543, the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act, introduced by Representatives John Tanner (D-TN) and Zack Wamp (R-TN); and H.R. 2248, the Redistricting Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Both bills seek to fundamentally improve the congressional redistricting process by, among other things, permitting only once a decade redistricting absent a court decision striking down the districts, and by creating independent commissions in the states to conduct congressional redistricting.

The post-2000 redistricting cycle saw unprecedented efforts to use the redistricting process purely for partisan purposes. This was done through severe gerrymandering, and the creation of districts that lacked any serious level of competitiveness, as districts were carefully calibrated to protect the powerbase of incumbent officeholders. When necessary to maximize their political advantage, some states even resorted to re-redistricting by repeatedly shifting voters among districts in order to weaken the minority political party and shore up the majority's political base. The effect of all this was a clear undermining of voter confidence in the integrity of our political process. In short, the redistricting process became an effective tool for making a highly partisan power grab.

House action is needed to ensure that competitiveness, accountability and fair representation remain healthy parts of our democratic process, and to keep the overly partisan and unchecked redistricting process from spinning out of control. Our nation will be irretrievably weakened if we continue with a system that undermines our representative democracy by allowing elected officials to choose their constituents, rather than a system where voters choose their elected officials.

It is time for the Subcommittee on the Constitution to hold hearings as a means of starting the critical conversation inside and outside of Congress on potential solutions to fixing the broken redistricting process. H.R. 543 and H.R. 2248 are good starting points for this conversation. Accordingly, we urge you to schedule hearings on redistricting reform.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter that is so critically important to the future of democracy in the United States.

Sincerely,

Campaign Legal Center
Committee for Economic Development
Common Cause
Council for Excellence in Government
Fair Vote
Reform Institute
U.S. PIRG

Cc: House Judiciary Committee
House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties