At a press conference today, House Redistricting Vice Chair Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) and House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) were joined by Former State Representative Jeff Barker, a Democrat and Independent Party of Oregon co-chair Andrew Kaza to call for an independent redistricting commission to ensure a fair and accountable process.

“It’s vital that new legislative districts accurately reflect the electorate, and without access to 2020 Census data, lawmakers should not be the ones drawing their own new boundaries,” stated Rep. Boshart Davis. “We need to pass legislation to get the responsibility out of the hands of partisan legislators and into a nonpartisan, independent commission.”

“Oregon voters should choose their politicians, politicians shouldn’t choose their voters. It’s a conflict of interest,” added Leader Drazan. “The independent commission we’re proposing would ensure the accountability and transparency that Oregonians deserve for fair representation from their lawmakers.”

“The current system is vulnerable to political gerrymandering which is detrimental to voting integrity,” said Hon. Barker. “This proposal would greatly reduce this risk by removing politicians from the process.”

“Political gerrymandering can destroy the public’s confidence in the electoral process,” stated IPO co-chair, Andrew Kaza. “We should remove all doubt that this year’s redistricting process is anything less than just and impartial by handing responsibility over to an independent commission.”

Leader Drazan’s work with House Joint Resolution 7 intends to create the pathway to establish an independent redistricting commission to carry out this process.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-10 14:55:22

Last Update: 2021-03-10 15:02:01