Statement on Essential Principles on Redistricting

as formulated at Pocantico Redistricting Conference July 2009

The statement below was agreed upon by attendees of the Pocantico Redistricting Conference on July 22-24, 2009. Additional organizations and individuals have signed on as well. All signatories are listed below. The essential principles are:

  1. An accurate and complete count in Census 2010 is an essential building block for all redistricting efforts.
  2. The process used for redistricting must be transparent to the public.
  3. The redistricting process, at all levels of government, must provide data, tools and opportunities for the public to have direct input into the specific plans under consideration by the redistricting body.
  4. In order to achieve representative democracy, redistricting plans must be drawn in a manner that allows elected bodies to reflect the diversity of the populace, especially racial and ethnic diversity.

Organizations (in alphabetical order)

Margaret Fung
Executive Director
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Justin Levitt
Counsel
Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law

J. Gerald Hebert
Executive Director
Campaign Legal Center

Malcolm Rich,
Executive Director
Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice

Terry Pastika
Executive Director
Citizen Advocacy Center

Bob Edgar
President
Common Cause

Ellen Freidin
Campaign Chair
FairDistrictsFlorida.org

Cynthia Canary
Executive Director
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

Mary G. Wilson
President
League of Women Voters of the United States

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Rich Robinson
Executive Director
Michigan Campaign Finance Network

Arturo Vargas
Executive Director
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

Catherine Turcer
Executive Director
Ohio Citizen Action

Christopher Brook
Staff Attorney
Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Dan McGrath
Executive Director
TakeAction Minnesota

Mike McCabe
Executive Director
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Individuals (in alphabetical order)
The intent of these individuals is only to speak for themselves and not for their institution.

Kristen Clarke
Co-Director, Political Participation Group
NAACP LDF

Edward B. Foley
Professor of Law
Ohio State University

Heather Gerken
J. Skelly Write Professor of Law
Yale Law School

Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor
George Mason University