In Spotlight Forum, Durbin Questions Witnesses About Preventing Partisan Gerrymandering

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during his and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s (D-CA) spotlight forum entitled “Protecting the Future of American Democracy: Fighting a Surge in Voter Suppression.” During the forum, Durbin focused on the tactics currently used by Republican campaigns and legislatures to restrict or dilute the power of Americans’ votes.
Durbin began by reflecting on Justice Allison Riggs’ election, which was settled after a drawn-out legal battle in which her opponent, Judge Jefferson Griffin, argued that thousands of ballots should be tossed out under the faulty argument that these voters were ineligible to cast a ballot.
“Justice Riggs, I was struck by your testimony that you believe that it cost nearly $2 million for your contest involving 68,000 votes… Is this part of the strategy on the other side to make sure that they spend so much money, the average person can’t fight them?”Durbin asked.
Justice Riggs replied that settling the legal challenge to her race cost her campaign $2 million, but she was a former election attorney who was knowledgeable about the process, and her campaign had the resources to fight the baseless legal claim. She noted that this is not the case for every campaign, and she further warned that this tactic could be used as a ploy to drain campaign resources in smaller, less well-funded races and prevent duly elected members from beginning their work.
Durbin then questioned Justin Levitt, Professor of Law at LMU Loyola Law School, about the potential outcome of President Trump’s attempt to redistrict Texas in order to gain Republican House seats.
Professor Levitt explained that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that excessive partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. However, in that same ruling,Rucho v. Common Cause, the Supreme Court deferred to the states to prevent gerrymandering. Professor Levitt reiterated that federal legislation is needed to constrain state legislatures from drawing unwieldy maps that favor one party over the other.
Video of Durbin’s remarks is availablehere.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks is availablehere.
Today’s spotlight forum comes after Durbin and U.S. Senator Reverand Raphael Warnock (D-GA) led all Senate Democrats in reintroducing theJohn R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would update and restore critical safeguards of the originalVoting Rights Act.
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