Redistricting Trainings and Resources
Now that Connecticut lawmakers have all of the 2020 Census data they need, they’re starting to draw new voting district maps — and if we let politicians rig the process or gerrymander these maps, vulnerable voters will be shut out of our democracy for an entire decade.
The next ten years of elections, policy decisions, and political power in our states rely on this. We demand that this decade’s district maps — in Connecticut and in every state in the country– reject gerrymandering, put people (not politicians) first, and are based on reliable and accurate Census data.
Some of the most important battles for our democracy are fought and won not in D.C. — but at home in our states. And right now, one of these crucial fights is heading into overdrive.
The Census Bureau has now released redistricting data from the 2020 Census. That means states can begin drawing their new electoral maps — and the decisions they make will impact voters for the next decade.
We must take immediate action to stop partisan politicians from drawing unfair maps. If we don’t, some will abuse their control of the process to create gerrymandered districts to limit the political influence of black and brown voters and protect incumbents.
That’s not how our democracy is supposed to work. Voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around. And any efforts to interfere with the process — by using the wrong data or drawing rigged maps that ignore our voices — can’t be swept under the rug.
Here’s what’s at stake: gerrymandering lets a few partisan politicians lock in a huge and unfair advantage. It denies voters their right to fair representation and a meaningful choice at the polls — and makes it harder to elect people who share our lived experiences.
That’s why we’re flipping the script this year and demanding that communities, not politicians, are put at the center of this all-important process.
Whether a state’s districts are drawn by the legislature or by a commission — mapmakers need to hear loud and clear that We the People will not be excluded from the redistricting process or silenced by gerrymandering.