Abuse of Power

Dan Vicuna with Common Cause joined me today to dive into the ⁠C.H.A.R.G.E. batch of report cards for each state's redistricting efforts⁠, and - surprise - ⁠Georgia got a D⁠. IN fact, 18 of the 20 failing states are GOP-controlled.

Ann Webb, the policy director of government watchdog group Common Cause North Carolina, said “an agency that is designed to protect the interests of the public spending, state funds should be operated in such a way that it reflects the public interest in its structure — not simply the interest of a couple of very powerful individuals.” “Democracy requires transparency,” Webb said. Webb, with Common Cause, said it’s “really important to look at the holistic picture. All the ways that the legislature has been grabbing power for itself.” She said Gov Ops is just the latest example. Webb said that Common Cause is “always concerned with balance of power, and checks and balances disrupted, and that’s not only the balance of power among the three branches of government but also the ability of the people to oversee what their government is doing.”

“This redistricting cycle in Ohio provided a textbook example of the lengths elected officials will go to prioritize partisanship over fair representation for the public,” the report by Common Cause stated, adding that Republican lawmakers and redistricting commission members showed a “complete disregard... for the rule of law in Ohio.”

A coalition of national organizations advocating for a stronger democracy published a report today evaluating redistricting efforts across all 50 states, awarding just two states with an “A” grade while 20 states earned a “D” or an “F” for their failures in transparency, opportunities for public input, nonpartisanship, and empowerment of communities of color. 

“This was about playing games with an election, not about playing around with the language that goes directly into the Ohio Constitution,” said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a member of the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition’s steering committee.

One group that has decided against litigation over this year’s redistricting process is Common Cause Ohio, a left-leaning good-government group. Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio’s executive director, said last week that her organization was considering filing a lawsuit against the Ohio Redistricting Commission, primarily to assert that the closed-door negotiations held by commission members violated state open-meetings law. But on Wednesday, Turcer said Common Cause Ohio decided that it would be better for them to spend their time and money on getting Ohio voters to approve a proposed constitutional amendment in 2024 that would overhaul the state’s redistricting process entirely. “This is a hard one to let go,” she said.