“Extreme gerrymandering” plan condemned
May 13, 2020
Former U.S. Senator John Danforth today condemned the legislative proposal moving in the Missouri General Assembly that seeks to replace voter-approved rules for fair, nonpartisan redistricting with an extreme gerrymandering plan. As published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"I was proud to support the Clean Missouri amendment on the 2018 ballot. The amendment changed the state constitution to clean up Missouri politics in various ways, but above all by reducing the role of politics in the way state House and Senate districts are drawn…
"[T]he Legislature must stop its attempts to overturn voters. If it insists on attacking voters, I will vote no on the legislators’ gerrymandering amendment and encourage every Missouri voter to do the same. The integrity of Missouri’s democracy is at stake."
Republican John C. Danforth is a three-term former Missouri U.S. Senator who also served as Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Danforth is an ordained Episcopal priest and helped lead the “Republicans for Amendment 1” coalition in 2018.
The clear rules requiring fair, competitive maps and a transparent redistricting process were endorsed by a diverse statewide coalition. Supporters of the Amendment 1 fair maps policy included AARP Missouri, League of Women Voters of Missouri, Missouri Faith Voices and the NAACP. Prominent conservative supporters of Amendment 1 redistricting policy included Former Sen. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph), St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones (D), Former Sen. and Councilmember Bob Johnson (R-Lee’s Summit), Former Sen. Marvin Singleton (R-Joplin), Rep. Nick Marshall (R-Parkville), and Trevor Potter, appointed to the Federal Election Commission by President George H.W. Bush.
The legislators' plan to radically change voter-approved redistricting rules (SJR38) seeks to:
• Gut or undermine all of the fair map reforms overwhelmingly supported by Missouri voters in the last election;
• Take away Missourians' constitutional rights to fair legislative maps;
• Protect incumbent legislators in safe districts, so voters can't hold them accountable;
• Give state political parties new powers to appoint map makers;
• Explicitly allow political operatives and lobbyists to draw some of the most polarizing district lines in America;
• Limit Missourians' ability to have their day in court if maps are rigged or unfairly target a community or group; and
• Limit what judges can do if legislative districts break state law requirements.
"I was proud to support the Clean Missouri amendment on the 2018 ballot. The amendment changed the state constitution to clean up Missouri politics in various ways, but above all by reducing the role of politics in the way state House and Senate districts are drawn…
"[T]he Legislature must stop its attempts to overturn voters. If it insists on attacking voters, I will vote no on the legislators’ gerrymandering amendment and encourage every Missouri voter to do the same. The integrity of Missouri’s democracy is at stake."
Republican John C. Danforth is a three-term former Missouri U.S. Senator who also served as Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Danforth is an ordained Episcopal priest and helped lead the “Republicans for Amendment 1” coalition in 2018.
The clear rules requiring fair, competitive maps and a transparent redistricting process were endorsed by a diverse statewide coalition. Supporters of the Amendment 1 fair maps policy included AARP Missouri, League of Women Voters of Missouri, Missouri Faith Voices and the NAACP. Prominent conservative supporters of Amendment 1 redistricting policy included Former Sen. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph), St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones (D), Former Sen. and Councilmember Bob Johnson (R-Lee’s Summit), Former Sen. Marvin Singleton (R-Joplin), Rep. Nick Marshall (R-Parkville), and Trevor Potter, appointed to the Federal Election Commission by President George H.W. Bush.
The legislators' plan to radically change voter-approved redistricting rules (SJR38) seeks to:
• Gut or undermine all of the fair map reforms overwhelmingly supported by Missouri voters in the last election;
• Take away Missourians' constitutional rights to fair legislative maps;
• Protect incumbent legislators in safe districts, so voters can't hold them accountable;
• Give state political parties new powers to appoint map makers;
• Explicitly allow political operatives and lobbyists to draw some of the most polarizing district lines in America;
• Limit Missourians' ability to have their day in court if maps are rigged or unfairly target a community or group; and
• Limit what judges can do if legislative districts break state law requirements.
