MEDIA ADVISORY: August 13, 2020 10:30am PT, 9th Circuit Court Oral Argument, 
People Not Politicians Oregon v. Clarno.

CONTACT: 
Kathay Feng, National Redistricting Director, Common Cause 
kfeng@commoncause.org (310) 880-6668

People Not Politicians Argue Against Oregon Attorney General’s Effort to Keep Redistricting Reform off the 2020 Ballot

SALEM, OR — August 13, 2020. People Not Politicians will defend Oregon voters’ First Amendment rights Thursday, August 13 during 9th Circuit oral arguments in People Not Politicians Oregon v. Clarno. People Not Politicians Oregon (PNP) is a broad and diverse coalition of Oregonians working to put Initiative Petition 57 (IP 57) on the November ballot. Initiative Petition 57 would create the Oregon Citizens Redistricting Commission and place everyday voters in charge of drawing congressional and legislative district lines in 2021 and beyond. PNP prevailed in federal district court on July 10. People Not Politicians will continue doing everything in our power to put this vital democracy reform on the ballot in November 2020, in time to reform the 2021 decennial redistricting.

We invite the media to watch the oral arguments on Thursday, August 13, 10:30am PDT.

WHO: People Not Politicians vs. Beverly Clarno, Oregon Secretary of State

WHAT: Oral arguments at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in People Not Politicians v. Clarno. During a global pandemic and following strict Oregon Stay Home orders, plaintiffs challenged the number of signatures that Oregon required for a ballot initiative to qualify for the November 2020 ballot and the deadline for filing signatures. After a decisive victory at the district court, in which Judge Michael J. McShane ordered the Oregon Secretary of State to lower the number of signatures required to qualify for the ballot and extend the deadline for collecting signatures to August 17, the Oregon Attorney General appealed to the Ninth Circuit. On August 11, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the district court decision. 

WHERE: To watch livestream of Oral Arguments: 
https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/live_oral_arguments.php

WHEN: Thursday, August 13, 2020  at 9:30 a.m. AKDT/10:30 a.m. PDT  before Judges Rawlinson, Murguia, and Nelson.

BACKGROUND:
Initiative Petition 57, filed in November 2019, would strip legislators of the ability to draw their own districts and congressional maps by creating the Oregon Citizens Redistricting Commission. This commission would consist of 12 Oregonians who apply to be selected – four from Oregon’s largest political party, four from the second largest political party, and four others who are third party members or non-affiliated. Commissioners would be selected to reflect the broad diversity of Oregonians.

* * * *

The initiative campaign coalition is being led by the League of Women Voters of Oregon, Common Cause Oregon, Oregon Farm Bureau, the Independent Party of Oregon, NAACP Eugene/Springfield Branch, OSPIRG, Oregon’s Progressive Party, the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, and tens of thousands of Oregonians who support the effort to remove politicians’ conflicts of interest from drawing their own voting lines.

Adam Lauridsen, David J. Rosen, Jay Rapaport, and Tara M. Rangchi of Keker, Van Nest and Peters lead the legal team in the Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court. Common Cause attorneys Dan Vicuna, Suzanne Almeida, Kathay Feng, law clerks Alton Wang and Michael Guggenheim, and Steve Elzinga of Sherman, Sherman, Johnnie and Hoyt contributed.

Learn more about IP 57, the campaign’s effort, and sign the petition at: www.PeopleNotPoliticiansOregon.com.

To read the filings in this case, click here.

To read the SCOTUS decision, click here.

To read the Ninth Circuit Court brief, click here.

To read the SCOTUS filing, click here.

To read the District Court’ preliminary order ruling, click here

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