 | |
| Abbreviation | NDRC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017; 8 years ago (2017) |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Key people |
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| Website | https://democraticredistricting.com |
TheNational Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is a US organization that focuses onredistricting and is affiliated with theDemocratic Party. The organization coordinates campaign strategy, directs fundraising, organizes ballot initiatives and files lawsuits against state redistricting maps.[1] At launch, the organization announced that it intends to support Democratic candidates for local and state offices in order for them to control congressional map drawing in theredistricting cycle following the2020 United States census.[2]
FormerAttorney GeneralEric Holder serves as Chairman of the NDRC. John Bisognano serves as President, and Marina Jenkins serves as Executive Director.[3] In 2016, PresidentBarack Obama has said he would be involved with the organization as the main focus of his political activity after his presidency.[1] According to NDRC senior adviser and former US RepresentativeMark Schauer, the organization intends to attract support from party officials, labor unions, and theAmerica Votes coalition of progressive activists.[4]
The NDRC is the first group within the Democratic Party to formulate a centralized strategy for gaining control of the redistricting process; in contrast, theRepublican Party launchedREDMAP to elect Republicans to perform redistricting during the2010 cycle.[5][6] The NDRC is organized as a not-for-profit527 organization, analogous to apolitical action committee (PAC) orSuper PAC.[4][7] It was founded in 2016 and formally registered with theIRS on August 15.[4] It was officially launched on January 12, 2017.[8]
In his speech to theCenter for American Progress Action Fund announcing the launch of the NDRC, Holder laid out a three-point “going into the states” strategy for tacklinggerrymandering, including investing indown-ballot Democratic candidates, taking legal action to reform existing maps in state and federal courts, and promotingballot measures for independentredistricting commissions. He described gerrymandering as "the biggest rigged system in America".[8]
In response to the launch of the NDRC, the Republican Party launched theNational Republican Redistricting Trust (NRRT) in 2017. The NDRC invested $350,000 in the 2019Wisconsin Supreme Court election in support ofliberal candidates, in hopes that a liberal majority on the state supreme court may strike down gerrymandered maps in 2021.[5]
For the 2020 redistricting cycle, the Republican Party controls redistricting for 187 seats in theUS House of Representatives, compared to 75 seats controlled by the Democratic Party. Noting the decrease in competitive House seats, NDRC president Burton said that "what Republicans are doing is doubling down on the gerrymandering of the last decade," in reference to gerrymandering by Republicans in Texas, Ohio and North Carolina.[9] The NDRC leads the Democrats' effort to pursue legal action to get courts to draw additionalBlack-majority or Black-plurality districts in Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina.[10]
In September 2021, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee's legal arm filed a lawsuit in theSupreme Court of Ohio challenging maps ofOhio House andOhio Senate districts, one week after they were passed along party lines; the committee argued that the maps weregerrymandered to favor Republicans in a way which violated thestate constitution.[11] In October, the committee defended the new map ofOregon's congressional districts, which was passed byOregon Democrats against Republican opposition in September, by arguing that it meets legal standards and was the product of bipartisan negotiation.[12] Republicans filed a lawsuit against the Oregon map, arguing that it amounted to "a clear, egregious partisan gerrymander" in favor of Democrats.[13]
In November, the NDRC supported plaintiffs which filed lawsuits in North Carolina alleging racial and partisan gerrymandering in theredistricting map passed by Republican state legislators in theNorth Carolina General Assembly.[14] According toCBS News, the new map could lead to a congressional delegation of eleven Republicans and three Democrats from the state, compared to the existing delegation of eight Republicans and five Democrats.[14] In December, the committee accused Erika Neuberg, the independent chair of Arizona'sIndependent Redistricting Commission, of being “derelict in her duties to the voters of Arizona” and “independent in name only” in making decisions which Democrats felt favored Republicans. According toPolitico, the map approved by the Commission may allow the Republican Party to win six out of the state's nine seats.[15]