Measure 20-362: establish an independent redistricting commission and require a nontraditional mid-cycle redistricting process to create a new map
Official title: AMENDMENT OF LANE CHARTER TO REVISE SUBSECTIONS GOVERNING REDISTRICTING
Financial impact: The cost for redistricting in 2021 was over $45,700, not including staff time. Costs are estimated to be at least that in 2025.
Probable Results of a Yes vote: Requires formation of a citizens redistricting commission to develop new Board of Commissioner districts for the 2026 general election and thereafter in each year ending in number one. Requirements for an independent redistricting committee, including the composition of the committee, would become part of the Lane County Charter. Charter Subsections 10(3)(d)) and 10(3)(e) would be amended or repealed to conform to the new subsection 10(4).
Probable Results of a No vote: No change in Subsections 10(3)(d)) and 10(3)(e) of the Lane County Charter. The existing maps will remain in effect until after the next census.
Background: Independent Redistricting Committee (IRC) In 2021, an Independent Redistricting Committee (IRC) was adopted by ordinance and established in Lane Code. Representative maps of the wards or districts for most elected officials are drawn every ten years after the decennial census, and so the IRC was tasked with bringing forward 2-4 recommended maps to the Board of Commissioners and from which the Board selected one.
Charter Review Committee (CRC) In 2010, Lane County voters approved an amendment to the Charter directing the Board of Commissioners to convene a Charter Review Committee (CRC) for the purpose of reviewing and recommending changes or updates to the existing charter every ten years. The current CRC completed its work in October 2023 and presented a final report to the Board in October 2023. The Board held a work session and several public hearings. The CRC made several recommendations to the Board including edits to Section 10.3.d and 10.3.e – to revise the redistricting process and establish the Independent Redistricting Committee in the Charter. The recommendation from the CRC was to replace the sections of the Lane County Charter that said that the Board of Commissioners would draw new maps with the requirement that the board of commissioners create an Independent Redistricting Committee (IRC) if the Board initiated review of the population of each district required a modification of boundaries to ensure equal protection under the law. If so, an Independent Redistricting Committee (IRC) would be convened. The CRC defined the size of the IRC, its transparency and equity, the required number of redistricting proposals and the opportunities for public comment. Following the public comment, one redistricting proposal was to be submitted to the board. The CRC recommended that the application procedure for the IRC be defined in Lane County Code rather than in the Charter to allow greater ease in modifying the process. The final presentation by the Charter Review Committee to the Board was on May 7. However, on May 23, a letter was sent by William Gary, of the law firm Harrang-Long (H-L), on behalf of Stanton Long which outlined two proposals for ballot measures on redistricting. The first measure described the process for forming a redistricting commission, elements of which are described in this ballot measure. The second proposal redefined the composition of the five districts. The proposals were submitted without the opportunity for public comment and appeared to be the work of a single individual rather than a committee. Discussion during the Board meeting following submission of the letter included concerns by some commissioners with the 2021 redistricting plan, which had been drawn by a committee with public input and chosen by the board at that time. Primary concerns expressed by those commissioners included the inclusion of parts of Eugene in all districts in the 2021 map. The H-L proposal also included the requirement that a second redistricting process occur in 2026. The board referred the proposal to the CRC for an accelerated review because of the short time line for a ballot measure to be on the upcoming General election ballot. The expedited review of the H-L letter by the CRC contained several unanimous recommendations, including that the commissioners not initiate a mid-cycle redistricting effort and that the only required qualification for membership to serve on the Redistricting Committee be current voter registration in Lane County. These recommendations were not accepted by a majority of the Commission. The County Clerk expressed concerns about the demands placed on her office by the proposal for redistricting in 2026.
Proposal: The proposed amendment would add subsection 10(4) requiring formation of a citizens redistricting commission to develop new Board of Commissioner districts for the 2026 general election and thereafter in each year ending in number one.
The citizens redistricting commission would consist of 15 members plus alternates. The power to adopt the final district maps would be transferred from the Board of Commissioners to the new commission.
Eligibility requirements for citizens redistricting commission members would include:
• Registration to vote in Lane County;
• Could not be candidates for or holders of federal, state, county or certain local offices;
• Could not be a registered lobbyist;
• Could not be paid congressional, legislative, or county employee.
• Other requirements. Redistricting commissioners would be selected by lot at a public meeting from a pool of candidates from each Commissioner district.
Lane County would provide staff and resources to the commission to fulfill its obligations. Board of Commissioners would adopt regulations to implement the new commission. Charter Subsections 10(3)(d)) and 10(3)(e) would be amended or repealed to conform to the new subsection 10(4).
Supporters say:
• The inclusion of portions of Eugene in all five districts of the current map creates the possibility of all five County Commissioners residing in Eugene.
• Some supporters of the H-L proposal felt that the redistricting process in 2021 was affected by political influence.
• An independent redistricting commission that does not involve current commissioners in the selection of some members of the redistricting commission is more independent.
Opponents say:
• Accepting a proposal from a single individual at the very end of a deliberative process that began in October 2023 and involved multiple opportunities for public comment is inappropriate.
• The concern about having five commissioners from Eugene is unwarranted. There are approximately 276K registered voters in Lane County and an average district size of 56K voters. About 105K Eugene voters are distributed between the North and South Eugene districts, while the other approximately 20K Eugene voters are distributed among the other three districts, making them a small component of the voting population for those three districts and making five commissioners seats filled by Eugene residents highly unlikely.
• This proposal creates an additional out-of-cycle redistricting process that is not budgeted and will take resources from actual priorities like housing and public safety.
City Club of Eugene SEP 2024 | LWVLC President Terry Parker with microphone (video 1:08)
Should Lane County Revise its Charter?
Lane County government operates under a home rule charter approved by voters in 1962. In 2010, Lane County voters approved an amendment to the Charter directing the Board of Commissioners to convene a Charter Review Committee (CRC) for the purpose of reviewing and recommending changes or updates to the existing charter every 10 years.
This November, Lane County voters will have the opportunity to vote on four proposed changes to the Charter – three put forth by the CRC to repeal certain sections of the Charter, and a fourth proposed by one of our panelists, Stanton Long, regarding redistricting of the Lane County Commission.
You may have been following the County Commissioners’ attempt to redo our election voting maps.
In November, I’m asking you to vote NO on Measure 20-362.
I served 4 years as the Commissioner for the Springfield district and then represented Lane County in Congress for 36 years. I never expected to see my home county government manipulated in such a cynical, self-serving way. County Commissioners are elected non-partisan, and the county just adopted maps written by a non-partisan commission. But the Republican-lead members of the Board working with a wealthy right-wing attorney are attempting to lock in their future re-election by stacking the deck.
Nationally, attacks are growing on election integrity, and now it’s happening right here in Lane County. That’s why I’m helping to raise funds to educate voters about this issue. Can I count on your support to get it done?
The county just updated our election voting district maps 3 years ago. They are not due to be updated until the next Census in 2030. There is no reason to change them now – EXCEPT that the current conservative members of the Board have enough votes to redo the districts to their own advantage.
They put this measure on the ballot for no good reason – it is a right-wing power grab.
Gerrymandering under the guise of so-called “independent redistricting” is misleading and an affront to genuine democracy. We already have an independent, all-volunteer Citizen Commission overseeing the charter work, and they unanimously opposed the proposal. The Commissioners apparently think they can ignore our current citizen commission and appoint one more to their liking.
Democracy requires secure, honest elections, and that includes not messing with the voting maps when it suits your purpose.
I dedicated my life to good, honest, representative government and am appalled by the backroom dealings of these Commissioners. Let’s send them a strong message and overwhelmingly reject the measure.
SAY NO TO PARTISAN, SELF-SERVING GERRYMANDERING!
Peter Defazio
Redistricting Measure 20-362 Does Not Measure Up
Terry Parker, President
League of Women Voters of Lane County
While the Lane League wholeheartedly supports the establishment of an Independent Redistricting Commission within the Lane County Charter, we are strongly opposed to Measure 20-362.
In a nutshell this is why:
● An Independent Redistricting Commission MUST be truly independent and allow for a diversity of voices to be at the table, including minorities and communities of interest that have been traditionally shut out.
● When and why redistricting occurs matters and should not be at the whim of elected officials who, for whatever reason, just don’t like the map. This “small” detail written into Measure 20-362 looks like an opportunity to gerrymander.
● Where the specifics live, whether in the Lane Charter or in Lane Code, matters. It costs taxpayer dollars to have to put minor changes to the Charter to a public vote.
● Election integrity is paramount. We should be listening carefully to the experts in the trenches that do the work on the ground.
● Process matters because if someone of influence can step in and do an end-run and circumvent an acknowledged, well-run public process, that puts all citizen involvement efforts in jeopardy. It breaks TRUST.
When and Why. The Board of County Commissioners has determined (by a 3 to 2 vote) “that it is in the public interest and benefit to offer voters the option to approve an amendment to the Lane County Charter that would enshrine in the Charter a citizens redistricting commission empowered to prepare a redistricting plan”… That sounds great, but here’s the rub, the Measure goes on to state “for the 2026 general election and thereafter in conjunction with the release of Federal Census data…..”
You have to ask yourself what is the motivation behind Measure 20-362 that mandates, with no new census data available, updating county commissioner maps in 2025 just 3 years after we went through the process. This is not a Charter Review Committee recommendation but a last minute boondoggle.
Where the details reside matters. The County Charter serves as a governing framework for our county government, much like a Constitution. Elections cost us. Redistricting takes time and money. As the Charter Review Committee recommended, putting details in code rather than in the Charter allows for nuanced improvement of the process over time rather than having to go back to a vote every time minor updates may be needed.
Election integrity is paramount. The League values and respects Lane County Elections staff. These are the people charged with voter registration and administration of federal, state, and local elections within Lane County. The job is daunting and increasingly complex. They have been under siege. The Lane County Clerk articulated to Commissioners that: “Introducing tasks outside the normal scope of election management within the proposed timeline poses significant risks to the integrity of elections in Lane County,”
Process matters. The Charter Review Committee presented its final report and recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on October 10, 2023. Nearly one year ago. When asked in late May to review a very “late-in-the-game” proposal that had no apparent public input or review, the Committee unanimously said NOT to put this Measure on the November ballot.
The district boundary map in use today has never been challenged. The current district boundaries have never been appealed to either the Secretary of State or in court. There is no documentation that the maps are in any way biased. There will be no new data available from the census until 2030. Crunching the same numbers in 2025 is a waste of our money.
The League’s goal is to have an Independent Redistricting Committee that works for the people of Lane County, not for politicians. Measure 20-362 does not measure up.
The League is a political grassroots network and membership organization that believes the freedom to vote is a nonpartisan issue. For more than a century, we’ve worked to empower voters and defend democracy. As a women-led organization, we encourage everyone to take part in our democracy.
Measure 20-362: A redistricting Solution in Search of a Problem
Terry Parker, President
League of Women Voters of Lane County
Ballot Measure 20-362, a redistricting proposal on your November ballot, seeks to amend the Lane County Charter to establish a Citizens Redistricting Committee and to redraw district voting maps before the next election in November 2026 rather than waiting for updated US Census data in 2030.
However, the changes proposed in Measure 20-362 have already been addressed in Lane County code and with our current district map that was approved just three years ago. Based on the 2020 US Census data, our present Lane County district map was developed and reviewed extensively by an Independent Redistricting Committee rather than by elected officials. Commissioners were presented with three maps to choose from and voted in December 2021 for their preferred map.
Redistricting is the process of creating representational maps for state and local communities. Redistricting impacts how our communities are represented and determines how resources are distributed. Historically, politicians have often manipulated the redistricting process to expand or protect their own power. This manipulation is called gerrymandering. To the League, Ballot Measure 20-362 is a hit in the solar plexus. The League is committed to ensuring that maps are drawn fairly and accurately, with all voices considered and equitably represented. This can only be achieved with voices from all communities. A random draw by lot of “eligible” applicants (sorted by district), as provided by Measure 20-362, does not come close to meeting that test. Nor does the section stating that if there are not enough eligible applicants the County Commissioner makes the selection.
The League of Women Voters of Lane County wholeheartedly supports the establishment of Independent Redistricting Committees. Unfortunately, we adamantly oppose Ballot Measure 20-362 because of both content and process. The devil is in the details. The mid-cycle requirement to change our district maps before the 2026 election is a non-starter for the League. It is highly unusual and costly. The process for putting Measure 20-362 on your ballot ignored public comment, the advice of our Lane County elections official and the Lane Charter Review Committee. (Go to the Lane County website for reports, agendas, minutes and recordings of committee and Commissioners meetings.)
Where the details live, whether in the Lane Charter or in code, is important. It costs us as taxpayers to have to vote for any change to our Charter. It should not have to happen for minor adjustments. Putting details in code rather than in the Charter allows for nuanced changes and improvements. We should be able to learn from our experience and come up with a better design, not this late-in-the-game proposal created by a single individual with no evidence of public input.
Ballot Measure 20-362 seeks to push aside both the current map and the work of a Charter Review Committee convened in October 2022 to study and offer charter amendments. Their report was presented to Commissioners back in October 2023. In response to some commissioners’ request for an expedited review of this new proposal presented in late May, the Charter Review Committee unanimously recommended rejecting it, as did the Lane County Clerk. But in a last-minute 3-2 decision, Commissioners voted to put this redistricting plan on the November ballot anyways.
The League’s goal is to have an Independent Redistricting Committee that works for the people of Lane County not for politicians. Measure 20-362 just does not measure up.
The League is a political grassroots network and membership organization that believes the freedom to vote is a nonpartisan issue. For more than a century, we’ve worked to empower voters and defend democracy. As a women-led organization, we encourage everyone to take part in our democracy.