In the wake of this week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which affirmed citizens’ rights in targeting gerrymandering, U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) released a statement on Wednesday in support of the decision.
“People coming together and solving problems on common ground is the essence of good government, and that is what we saw in this case,” Ribble said. “The citizens of Arizona were working to fight gerrymandering in their state. Gerrymandering that makes districts increasingly extreme on either side of the political spectrum ultimately hurts all Americans. When a district is so heavily liberal or conservative that the only competition for a seat occurs during the primary election, it can disenfranchise millions of voters.”
Ribble continuously has supported U.S. voters in the fight against gerrymandering, signing onto an amicus brief, supporting citizens’ right to band together to stop the practice, as well as sponsoring the John Tanner Fairness in Redistricting Act and the Redistricting Transparency Act of 2015 — bills that work to eliminate gerrymandering.
“I commend the people of Arizona for working toward a solution for this problem, and the Supreme Court for upholding their right to do so,” Ribble said.