Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected challenges to partisan voting districts, declining to decide on extreme gerrymandering. This is a missed opportunity to declare extreme partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional and transform our democracy for the better. But for Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is not the end of the fight for fair districts–it is a call to action.
His new Crowdpac campaign highlights the need to to take this fight to the states by creating fair redistricting systems, supporting ballot initiatives that create independent bodies to draw district lines, and making changes through the ballot box.
The Supreme Court won’t rule on partisan gerrymandering. Now Arnold has a new plan to terminate gerrymandering once & for all.
From Arnold: “This is our problem to solve. And we can solve it. All over the country, reformers are working to create fair redistricting systems. Just a month ago, Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed redistricting reform, and other states like Colorado are not far behind. In some states, like California, reforms were put in place years ago. The Court’s action simply sets the stage for a new battle in the same war. We must continue to seek change in the courts, we must seek it through the ballot box, electing candidates who support fair redistricting and supporting ballot initiatives that create independent bodies to draw district lines. If we do that, together we can put an end to politicians picking their voters.
“Let this decision serve as a wake-up call to all of us to find these campaigns, support them, and end the 200-year-old scam of gerrymandering — state by state. If we do that, we will win in the end.
“To those of you who are disheartened, let me remind you that California attempted to reform our redistricting process four times and failed. The fifth time, we won.
“That’s why we’ve identified four citizen-powered movements in Missouri, Michigan, Colorado, and Utah that need our help to terminate gerrymandering in their states. With each state that takes action, our movement grows stronger and more likely to succeed at the national level.
“Let’s roll up our sleeves and terminate gerrymandering once and for all:”
