{"id":340,"date":"2021-11-15T21:38:03","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T21:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/"},"modified":"2021-11-15T21:38:03","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T21:38:03","slug":"young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Adults: 5 things you can do today to\u00a0impact\u00a0the next 10 years of your life\u00a0"},"template":"","class_list":["post-340","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Young\u00a0adults\u00a0have a lot of political power at stake when it comes to fair representation. At the end of the day if your maps\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0represent\u00a0you, then your representatives\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0represent\u00a0you. So much of our lives are dependent on the\u00a0district\u00a0maps,\u00a0from the resources for better schools, affordable\u00a0healthcare\u00a0and\u00a0safe neighborhoods.\u00a0Together, we can secure fair district maps that give us\u00a0a\u00a0government in which everyone\u00a0participates, every vote is counted,\u00a0and\u00a0every voice is heard.","featured_image":null,"article_type":181,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"55\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":341}"],"related_issues":[62,442],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"One of the most pressing\u00a0voting and election\u00a0issues\u00a0is\u00a0flying completely\u00a0under the radar: redistricting.\u00a0Redistricting affects\u00a0every issue\u00a0we care about\u00a0because it shapes our ability to hold elected leaders accountable to deliver the resources our communities\u00a0deserve\u00a0for the next decade.\u00a0It is important to understand why\u00a0redistricting\u00a0matters, who\u00a0determines\u00a0our redistricting maps,\u00a0and why you should\u00a0get involved\u00a0in this process\u00a0today.\r\n\r\nRedistricting is the process of redrawing\u00a0new\u00a0district\u00a0map\u00a0boundaries for every level of government, from school board to Congress.\u00a0This process happens once every 10 years, after the\u00a0Census data is collected.\u00a0The process is meant to ensure that even as our communities grow and change, everyone will have equal representation and voice in our\u00a0government.\u00a0In Maryland,\u00a0the state legislature\u00a0draws\u00a0our\u00a0congressional lines\u00a0and can adopt of\u00a0modify\u00a0state legislative lines.\r\n\r\nThese new district maps\u00a0determine\u00a0who our representatives in government will be, where we vote, and\u00a0what will be on our ballot\u00a0for the next decade.\u00a0Currently, the\u00a0legislators\u00a0in power\u00a0are in charge of\u00a0drawing district maps, meaning they get to draw the boundaries for their\u00a0next election, in 2022.\r\n\r\nSuch great power means there is no check and balance in place for politicians who want to draw district lines\u00a0that\u00a0tear our neighborhoods apart if it is politically\u00a0advantageous\u00a0for the politicians in power.\u00a0This concept is known as gerrymandering. Politicians have used this mechanism to dilute the power of Black and Brown voters from having a voice at the ballot box, the opportunity to run for elected office, and\u00a0influence\u00a0the decisions that\u00a0impact\u00a0our everyday lives.\r\n\r\nNo matter where we live, how much money we make, what political party we belong to, or the color of our skin, one basic principle of American democracy is that we the voters get to choose our representatives, not the other way around.\u00a0If we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0make\u00a0our voices\u00a0heard\u00a0for fair maps, the\u00a0maps\u00a0will be drawn in the interests\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0elected officials who draw them.\r\n\r\nYour voice deserves to be heard!\u00a0Here\u00a0are five things you can do today to\u00a0impact\u00a0the next 10 years of your life.\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Use social medi<\/strong>a:\u00a0Share your thoughts\u00a0or information about your community\u00a0on social media and tag your lawmakers.\u00a0If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0on\u00a0twitter, share that information with both commissions\u00a0via\u00a0@MD_LRAC and @MDredistricting<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Letter to the Editor<\/strong>-Use\u00a0or quick and easy to use\u00a0letter to the editor\u00a0tool<\/a> to\u00a0help get the word out about redistricting and to advocate for a fair and transparent process.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Provide\u00a0testimony<\/strong>-\u00a0Local and state mapmakers are holding hearings and very few young people are\u00a0providing\u00a0testimony.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0important they hear from you. Use this helpful\u00a0worksheet<\/a> to draft testimony and check out this calendar<\/a>\u00a0for a list of\u00a0upcoming\u00a0hearings.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Mobilize your friends <\/strong>and\u00a0network<\/strong>-\u00a0use\u00a0these\u00a0free redistricting\u00a0resources<\/a>\u00a0to help them learn about the process and how to make their voices heard.<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Community mapping<\/strong>-\u00a0Mapping\u00a0is\u00a0a great way\u00a0to\u00a0help mapmakers\u00a0identify\u00a0communities of\u00a0interest.\u00a0DistrictR<\/a> is\u00a0a\u00a0free and easy\u00a0to use\u00a0tool that you can use to\u00a0visually show where a community is\u00a0located\u00a0to help make the case for keeping that community together.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nYoung\u00a0adults\u00a0have a lot of political power at stake when it comes to fair representation. At the end of the day if your maps\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0represent\u00a0you, then your representatives\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0represent\u00a0you. So much of our lives are dependent on the\u00a0district\u00a0maps,\u00a0from the resources for better schools, affordable\u00a0healthcare\u00a0and\u00a0safe neighborhoods.\u00a0Together, we can secure fair district maps that give us\u00a0a\u00a0government in which everyone\u00a0participates, every vote is counted,\u00a0and\u00a0every voice is heard.\r\n\r\nSimone\u00a0Volman, Sophomore, University of Maryland\r\n\r\nAleksandra Petrovic, Redistricting Campaign Coordinator"}}]},"yoast_head":"\nYoung Adults: 5 things you can do today to\u00a0impact\u00a0the next 10 years of your life\u00a0 - Common Cause Maryland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young Adults: 5 things you can do today to\u00a0impact\u00a0the next 10 years of your life\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Maryland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/maryland\/articles\/young-adults-5-things-you-can-do-today-to-impact-the-next-10-years-of-your-life\/\",\"name\":\"Young Adults: 5 things you can do today to\u00a0impact\u00a0the next 10 years of your life\u00a0 - 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