When redistricting is a community-led process, the outcome will be fair maps that benefit the voters, not the politicians. Sadly, that is not the case in this year’s redistricting cycle. These maps have done nothing more than split our state along partisan lines with the goal of helping those in power win their next election. The way these maps have been drawn drowns out the voices of everyday Nebraskans who deserve to have a say in the major decisions that impact their lives.

When redistricting is fair, transparent, and includes everyone, our maps are more likely to be representative and secure free, fair, and responsive elections for the next decade. That is why we are advocating for a process that prioritizes opportunities for meaningful public input, public access to the redistricting data used by mapmakers in Nebraska, and a mapmaking process conducted openly rather than behind closed doors.

Today, Common Cause Nebraska released its annual report detailing the state’s lobbying activity. The report, “Lobbyist Spending: Nebraska’s Other Pandemic Thrives During COVID-19,” found that while gross lobbying expenditures dropped in 2020, lobbyist compensation increased for more than half of the state’s top ten firms.

A coalition of 13 good government organizations today announced their support for a bill that aims to eliminate politics and partisanship from the mandatory, once-in-a-decade redrawing of the state’s political districts.

NE coalition raises awareness on how the census affects voting maps for the next decade

Just last month, the Trump administration announced that it would halt the 2020 Census on Sept. 30, four weeks earlier than the original Census Bureau deadline.

It is one of the most important undertakings by the federal government because it determines the distribution of political power and resources nationwide that affect Americans for an entire decade.

While Nebraska has plenty of reason to worry about a loss in federal funding, we should also be concerned with how a census undercount will harm the state’s...

Common Cause Nebraska releases 2020 Lobbying Report