The California Supreme Court is due to rule on a petition filed late last month, alleging California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) members have held non-public meetings on redrawing voting districts, and seeking court intervention to stop such meetings and restore the CRC’s constitutionally mandated transparency.
Exhibits submitted with the lawsuit show handwritten notes from meetings held on days when no public meeting was scheduled, Mark Meuser, senior associate with the Dhillon Law Group, which filed the petition, told the Northern California Record.
“These are the documents that were given through the public records request, and these are handwritten notes that actually show these notes from these secret meetings,” Meuser said. “That’s how we knew these were actually taking place.”
Under the Voting Rights Act that created the CRC, it constitutes a violation of the law, Meuser said.
Fred Woocher and Alan Pane, attorneys representing the CRC in the case, Moreno v. Citizens Redistricting Commission, were not immediately available to respond to the Record’s request for comment.
After the CRC filed its Dec. 7 court response to the petition, CRC chair Jane Andersen posted a statement on the commission’s website.
“The instant Emergency Petition for Writs of Prohibition and Mandate or Other Extraordinary or Immediate Relief was filed months after the supposedly unlawful activities allegedly took place and comes just weeks before the Commission’s deadline to certify the final redistricting maps,” Andersen said. “It is at best an untimely and unnecessary distraction as the Commission presses to finish its important work. This Commission is continually thanked for its demonstrated commitment to an open and transparent process enabling full public consideration of and comment on its work."
The petitioners filed their reply brief on Dec. 10, after which the Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling, as soon as this week.
The deadline for submitting final redistricting maps to the Secretary of State is Dec. 27.