Americans deserve fair maps and fair representation. 

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From the Desk of Trevor Potter
Dear John,

As I’m sure you saw, last week the Senate failed to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act (H.R. 5746).

This was a critical piece of federal legislation to ensure accessible voting, transparency in our elections and fair voting maps for every American.

The Senate’s failure to pass this legislation was expected by the time the vote occurred, but it was still disappointing. These solutions should not have become partisan issues, yet a disheartening partisan divide emerged all the same.
Nearly a week later, it is still worth saying: Congress should pass federal legislation. If not these entire bills, then perhaps parts of them. And Congress must amend the Electoral Count Act (the old and confusing law that governs congressional receipt of Electoral College votes) before the next presidential election. There are signs that this issue, at least, can generate bipartisan support, and CLC has been working on this behind the scenes with congressional staff since last spring.

CLC and many, many others will continue our advocacy for commonsense federal-level solutions to the myriad problems that continue to plague our democracy. Congress cannot be let off the hook.

In the meantime, some have asked: without federal legislation, is all lost?

My answer is: not necessarily, but we must fight. There are still numerous places where we can hold ground and make progress. It will require hard work, but I’m confident there will be important wins for democracy at the state and local levels this year.

That is not to minimize the magnitude of last week’s loss. Without nationwide action, far too many voters in too many states will still face barriers that are unlikely to be remedied.

Still, there are causes for measured optimism and hope.

Redistricting provides some recent examples.

In Ohio, the state’s Supreme Court ([link removed]) just invalidated unfair state House and Senate maps, identifying them as a partisan gerrymander in violation of Ohio law.

Partisan actors tried to rig maps to stifle the voices of Ohio voters, but they came away unsuccessful. As CLC’s Mark Gaber said on Twitter, this was a huge win for democracy and fair maps. ([link removed]) Ohio voters had approved changes to the state constitution in 2015 to limit partisan gerrymandering, and the Ohio Supreme Court did the right thing, rejecting the argument that Ohio voters’ preference for fair maps is only “aspirational.” Notably, the decision was not a “party-line” vote—the Court’s majority included jurists appointed by both Democrats and Republicans. (A point of pride for CLC: ([link removed]) a concurring opinion cited CLC's report on independent redistricting commissions).

In Virginia and Michigan, new redistricting processes (which CLC supported ([link removed]) and defended ([link removed]) ) have produced fairer maps this cycle—a marked contrast from the past. These processes took power at least partially out of the hands of partisan politicians, and the results benefit the voters. I wrote about the Virginia maps in my local paper, the Fauquier Times, ([link removed]) and CLC’s Simone Leeper wrote about the Michigan ([link removed]) process on CLC’s website.

In North Carolina, Republicans produced an egregious partisan gerrymander, which a low state court unfortunately upheld ([link removed]) earlier this month. CLC’s PlanScore analysis ([link removed]) found that the U.S. House maps are so partisan, that given a 50% D / 50% R vote share, the predicted actual seat share across scenarios would be 39% D / 61% R.

Nevertheless, the fair maps community seems optimistic about the chances of the North Carolina maps eventually being struck down by the North Carolina Supreme Court. That battle is still being fought, but litigators are optimistic.

CLC itself has recently filed new redistricting lawsuits in the states; just last week, we filed a lawsuit against Washington state ([link removed]) over maps that appear to dilute the voting power of Latino voters. We also just joined a lawsuit against a racially discriminatory voting map in Galveston County, Texas. ([link removed])

State and local efforts are going to make the difference, and we can advance democracy at the state and local levels. Hopefully, these recent examples show that the work continues, and all is not lost.

It’s clear that, in 2022—at least in terms of voting access and securing fair representation—all politics is going to be local, even more than it usually is.
Sincerely,

Trevor Potter
President, Campaign Legal Center
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