California Common Cause board members resign in wake of redistricting battle
The article reports that several members of the advisory board for California Common Cause, a nonpartisan group historically opposed to partisan gerrymandering, have resigned.this comes after the national chapter of Common Cause reversed its longstanding opposition and decided to support california’s push for mid-decade congressional redistricting. The group framed this shift as a necessary response to efforts by former President Donald Trump and Republican leaders to redraw maps in states like Texas to secure additional political power before the 2026 midterm elections.
The resignations reportedly occurred after disagreements over the fairness criteria established by common Cause’s national board to guide redistricting efforts. These criteria aim to ensure proportionality, public participation, racial equity, federal reform, support for independent redistricting commissions, and limits on the duration of new maps.
Previously, California Common Cause criticized Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting efforts, but the national group now defends them as a countermeasure against what it describes as an authoritarian strategy by Republicans to undermine democracy. Despite the changes, Common Cause maintains it does not endorse partisan gerrymandering as a general practice but sees this situation as an exceptional circumstance.California Common Cause did not comment further for the report.
California Common Cause board members resign in wake of redistricting battle
Multiple members of California Common Cause’s advisory board have resigned as the nonpartisan group, historically critical of partisan gerrymandering, tackles its conflicting response to the national redistricting battle.
Last week, the national chapter of the group reversed its long-held position and backed California’s push to redraw its congressional districts. The group described it as a “counterbalance measure” to President Donald Trump’s public call for Texas and other red states to redraw maps to secure additional House seats before the 2026 midterm elections.
While the total number of departures on California’s advisory board is not known, Common Cause President and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón told Politico’s Playbook that members resigned “after expressing disagreement with the fairness criteria” the organization’s national board created as guardrails around the kinds of mid-decade redistricting California is pursuing.
“Their perspectives have been valuable, and we are grateful for their service,” Solomón said.
Two weeks ago, the organization had pop-up fundraising appeals on its website that slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for “attempting to copy the GOP’s playbook to boost his profile.” A July 24 newsletter from the group also called the actions of Texas Republicans and Newsom “wrong” and said “all of it is anti-democratic.”
That position changed last week when the group posted on its website that it would not oppose Newsom’s efforts.
“In the current mid-decade redistricting battle, we recognize that President Trump and Republican leaders are pursuing a calculated, asymmetric strategy to redraw districts mid-decade in states like Texas, to lock in unaccountable power and silence voters,” the group posted on its website last Tuesday. “This is not an isolated political tactic; it is part of a broader march toward authoritarianism, dismantling people-powered democracy, and stripping away the people’s ability to have a political voice and say in how they are governed.”
The group said while it would not endorse partisan gerrymandering “even when its motive is to offset more extreme gerrymandering by a different party,” it added that a “blanket condemnation in this moment would amount to a call for unilateral political disarmament in the face of authoritarian efforts to undermine fair representation and people-powered democracy.”
COMMON CAUSE CHANGES TUNE ON CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING FIGHT
Common Cause said it was establishing six-point fairness criteria by which it would assess states’ maps. They include proportionality, public participation, racial equity, federal reform, endorsement of independent redistricting, and time limits, meaning any new maps must expire after the 2030 census and be replaced through a regular decennial redistricting process.
Common Cause California did not return a request by the Washington Examiner for comment.
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