RICHMOND, VA – Today, the Virginia House of Delegates passed legislation to amend the state’s constitution to reform how new congressional and legislative election maps are drawn, limiting the ability of lawmakers to redraw maps for their own political advantage. It will now go before voters on the November General Election ballot.

Paul Smith, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), released the following statement:

“Virginia has long been plagued by gerrymandering. By passing a constitutional amendment to create the Virginia Redistricting Commission, lawmakers are signaling that the state is ready to turn the page on the last decade’s gerrymandering wars – and embrace a redistricting process that works for voters, not politicians. Legislators seized on the public’s desire for reform and proved that bipartisan long-term solutions are possible when principles are placed over partisanship. Our efforts do not end here. Advocates for fair maps must be sure to educate Virginia voters about the benefits of fair maps between now and November when the amendment will be on the ballot.”

Background:

On Friday, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) sent a letter to the leadership in the Virginia House of Delegates on behalf of a coalition of 11 nonpartisan groups who advocate for a better democracy. The letter urged state lawmakers to pass the amendment with strong enabling legislation.

Public support for ending gerrymandering:

Voters nationwide overwhelmingly support redistricting reform. A 2019 national poll commissioned by CLC found strong opposition to gerrymandering with broad, bipartisan support for the creation of independent redistricting commissions. In fact, 65% of voters surveyed would prefer congressional districts with no partisan bias, even if it meant fewer seats for their own party.

Virginians are in line with this national trend. A December 2019 survey shows that Virginia voters strongly support the second passage of the redistricting reform constitutional amendment, by a 70%-15% margin.

Senate Republicans announced they will hold a confirmation hearing next week for Federal Election Commission (FEC) nominee James “Trey” Trainor.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) President Trevor Potter, a former Republican Commissioner and Chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), released the following statement:

“Trey Trainor’s nomination as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is yet another example of how the current nomination process continues to produce commissioners who are opposed to the mission of the agency – resulting in an explosion in secret spending, and our politics increasingly rigged in favor of special interests. For the FEC to do its job to protect the voices of all voters, not just special interests, the agency and the nomination process must be reformed.

The FEC is the only government agency solely responsible for enforcing the laws that govern the federal campaign finance system. In recent years, opponents of campaign finance laws have pushed for the nomination of commissioners who, like Trainor, have a record of being opposed to the laws the agency enforces. As a result, the FEC has routinely failed to enforce the laws designed to hold candidates and their donors accountable.

Trainor’s nomination promises to perpetuate this dysfunction. For example, upholding transparency laws is a key part of the FEC’s mission, but Trainor has questioned the value of disclosing political donors, and falsely claimed the Supreme Court endorsed secret political spending when it has done precisely the opposite.

To reduce political corruption, we need a stronger FEC to enforce campaign finance laws and hold political candidates and their donors accountable. Congress has the power to restructure the FEC and the nomination process to safeguard the agency against divides that have produced an agency that fails to do its job to enforce campaign finance laws and protect the voices of voters.”

CLC Senior Director and Chief of Staff Adav Noti, former Associate General Counsel of the FEC, stated:

“A commissioner who opposes the FEC’s mission can bring the entire agency to a halt. Trainor’s record shows that he would block the FEC’s nonpartisan investigators and attorneys from doing their jobs. Congress must restructure the FEC to prevent obstruction by individual commissioners, but until then, to place an anti-transparency activist such as Trainor on the FEC would be to place the fox firmly in charge of the chicken coop.”

CINCINNATI, OH – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit permitted Ohio to continue its practice of disenfranchising eligible voters arrested and held in pre-trial detention in the final days preceding an election. This reverses a November 2019 decision by the district court in Mays v. LaRose, which found that Ohio violated the Equal Protection Clause by denying late-jailed voters the ability – offered to late-hospitalized voters – to request absentee ballots through 3pm on Election Day. The lawsuit was brought by Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Dēmos and the MacArthur Justice Center.

“Innocent until proven guilty should also apply to the right to vote,” said Mark Gaber, director, trial litigation at CLC. “People awaiting trial have the right to vote and we will continue to fight for them across the nation. The court got it wrong, but Ohio should follow the lead of jurisdictions like Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, and Washington D.C. by adopting policies that ensure jailed voters are informed of their rights, election officials are required to create plans for jail voting, and real voting options are provided to those in jail.”

“The Sixth Circuit recognized that people jailed in the final days before an election have no way to get a ballot and responded, in substance, too bad,” said Naila Awan, Senior Counsel at Dēmos. “Despite today’s disappointing opinion, we remain committed to working with community groups to protect voting rights for jailed Ohio voters who are eligible to vote and deserve a voice at the ballot box.”

“People who are held in jail awaiting charge are innocent until proven guilty and have the Constitutional right to vote,” said Jonathan Manes, attorney at the MacArthur Justice Center. “Today’s decision is profoundly mistaken because it allows Ohio to deny the vote to many people held in jail on Election Day, even while it extends special voting assistance to other people who are hospitalized and cannot make it to the polls. We will continue to advocate for fair treatment and voting rights of people entangled in the criminal legal system.”

What other jurisdictions are doing to help late-jailed voters:

About 750,000 people are incarcerated in jails across the United States every day, most of whom retain the right to vote. Casting a ballot, though, can be impossible for these eligible voters simply because they are incarcerated. There is plenty election officials can do to change this de facto disenfranchisement:

• Arizona and Colorado’s Secretaries of State have adopted rules requiring local election officials to design and implement plans to provide ballots to eligible voters in jails.
• Chicago passed a law putting a polling location in its largest jail, in Cook County.
• Washington D.C. does direct outreach to voters in jails, providing them with voter registration assistance and helps them cast ballots.
• Maryland is considering a bill that would notify eligible voters in jails that they are eligible and instruct them on how to cast ballots.

CLC has launched a program to fight jail-based disenfranchisement using advocacy and litigation to ensure eligible voters in jails have the ballot access they need to exercise their fundamental right to vote. Learn more.