The St. Michael’s Advocacy Action team is gearing up for a busy election year. A proposed initiative for the November 2020 ballot, Initiative Petition 57, would create an independent Oregon Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw state legislative and congressional districts in an impartial and fully transparent manner. At present, politicians draw the boundary maps for their own state and congressional districts. This has resulted in 96.3% of incumbent politicians being re-elected year after year, in districts they have drawn themselves.

This proposal would reject partisan gerrymandering and provide greater opportunity for districts to represent under-represented communities like low-income citizens, persons of color, and rural Oregonians to have a voice in their representation.

 The initiative is backed by the NAACP, League of Women Voters, and Common Cause. For more information, or to request a petition, contact People Not Politicians through their website or call 503/386-7996. Gather signatures from everyone in your household as quickly as possible, then return the signed petition to People Not Politicians. Time is of the essence as the due date for petitions is coming soon.