California Dem Corey Jackson Urges Lawmakers To Allow Californians To 'Make The Final Say' On Redistricting

5 months ago

During a California State Assembly redistricting meeting on Thursday, California State Rep. Corey Jackson (D-CA) spoke about allowing voters to make the final say on redistricting.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, permission to have a prop?

00:04Mr. Jackson, we're not going to allow props today.

00:07Not a problem.

00:09Mr. Speaker, I wanted to rise because it's hard to have a thorough discussion or debate

00:18in which today has been a very good debate.

00:22When we talk about the role of democracy, it simply cannot happen without a real consideration

00:31and a real review of our U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers themselves to understand

00:45the real wisdom of our founders and just how much thought they put into all the different

01:00checks and balances that were necessary to ensure that this democracy can hold.

01:07And one of those things is found in the Federalist Papers No. 10, where Madison specifically

01:17talks about the roles of the state.

01:22And over 200 years ago, Madison said that there will be a time where a fractious leader will

01:32emerge.

01:33And that fractious leader will begin to do things to consolidate power.

01:42There will be a time when the executive and the legislative and the judiciary fail their

01:52constitutional responsibility to properly provide a check and balance.

01:58So Madison says, therefore, is now up to the states to provide yet another stopgap, to begin

02:13to hold on, to slow down this fractious movement until the next election cycle.

02:20So there is something special that we are doing today.

02:30There is something very constitutional that we are doing today.

02:36To ensure that we do our part of having the most fair election process as possible, given the circumstances

02:53of the nation.

02:54And then in the Federalist Papers No. 16, Hamilton says that at the end of the day, when our three

03:11branches of government may fail, even the actions of states may fail.

03:19But Hamilton says something beautiful.

03:23He says, when it all else fails, that the number one protector of our democracy, he calls the natural

03:36guardians.

03:38And those natural guardians are the people themselves.

03:43And so an assembly constitutional amendment says, the legislature has a recommendation for you, natural

03:59guardians, that we believe is important enough for you to consider.

04:06But at the end of the day, this democracy is not ours.

04:13We are only your representatives.

04:16At the end of the day, the democracy and the preservation of this democracy lies in your hands.

04:2430 seconds.

04:26Therefore, there's nothing more democratic.

04:29There is nothing more constitutional.

04:32There is nothing that fulfills both the letter and the spirit of our democracy than to allow the people of California

04:41to make the final say.

04:44I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

California Dem Corey Jackson Urges Lawmakers To Allow Californians To 'Make The Final Say' On Redistricting

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