Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #FairMaps

Most recents (24)

We’re so excited to announce these leadership transitions! Our Executive Director, @johnbisognano, will be assuming the position of President, and our Director of Litigation & Policy, @marinakate31, will be assuming the position of Executive Director. ⬇️
nytimes.com/2023/03/10/us/…
The NDRC is heading into a new frontier with a successful redistricting cycle behind us—and a decade of redistricting work ahead of us. @EricHolder is continuing in his role as Chairman, and we’re redoubling our commitment to fight for #FairMaps.
Our team is beyond grateful to @kellycward who led this organization with passion for the last 6 years, and will be staying close as an NDRC Board Member. Please join us in congratulating our new leadership team!👏
Read 3 tweets
As @POTUS gives his #StateOfTheUnion address tonight, we'd like to share our own #SOTU.  

Here are five ways we'd like to see the promise of democracy become real for us all in 2023:  

[thread incoming🧵] A CLC-branded graphic that ...
1/ Protect & expand the freedom to vote ahead of #Election2024.

This is one of our most fundamental rights, and our democracy is strongest when every voter can participate in it. We're very much still fighting anti-voter laws in court & taking on barriers to #VoterRegistration.
1b/ Meanwhile, in the absence of federal voting legislation, we're very encouraged by the passage of State Voting Rights Acts (aka State VRAs). We hope to see more of them introduced this year. 

campaignlegal.org/update/protect…
Read 15 tweets
2022 #Midterms Simulation: #ArtoftheGerrymander

A Republican House win will be built on gerrymanders (TX/GA/FL/TN/LA, etc.)

To illustrate the need for fair maps, I'm calculating the results using the 2022 votes, but if every state had a Democratic gerrymander. #ElectionTwitter ImageImageImageImage
Methodology:

I’ll apply the difference in Presidential margin to the House result. Thanks @davesredist @mikemathieu @vest_team + @DKElections @PoliticsWolf

Keen to see how my maps perform over the decade; tried to comply with state law if partisan intent were allowed to stand.
#ArtoftheGerrymander: #Alabama
Trump 62.0% - Biden 36.6%
Real delegation: 6R-1D
Gerrymandered: 5R-2D
Δ Share of D seats: 14% => 28%
Easy Democratic pick-up of a safe new African American seat.
davesredistricting.org/join/ff857256-… ImageImageImage
Read 111 tweets
In a state that’s voted just 54% Republican in the last 10 yrs, passed 2 constitutional reforms to ban gerrymandering, & despite 7 rulings agnst illegal maps, the OH GOP will hold:

❌ 67% of congressional delegation

❌ 67% of OH House &

❌ 79% of OH Senate

Fucking criminal.
Before I digress, let me say unequivocally that:

Ohio is worth fighting for. Our democracy is worth fighting for. And progressive values are worth running on here.

Our work to make this state a better & more just place for all who call it home continues bc, well…it has to.
Now, about last night - it sucked. There’s a lot that we can point to about why it went the way it did, but I’ll stick to my soap box and say: 🗣️ it’s the maps 🗣️

Yes, even for the non-districted races! Gerrymandering doesn’t just strip us of our votes, but also our futures 👇🏼
Read 8 tweets
Grateful to have been a part of this episode so more folks understand just how brazenly lawless Ohio’s GOP is in their unending quest to maintain their outsized & illegal grips on political power.

Give it a listen & then let your rage fuel your trip to the polls to vote them out
These Ohio races will directly impact our upcoming mapping process (bc, yes, we still have to fix our illegal maps!):

Gov (@nanwhaley), SOS (@ChelseaForOhio) , Auditor (@TaylorInSEOhio), Supreme Court (@JenniferBrunner, @JGTERRIJAMISON, @vote4JudgeZayas), state House and Senate.
Is it infuriating and unjust that we are voting under illegal maps this election? Yes.

Do we still have a way to fight back for #FairMaps? Absolutely.

If you haven’t yet, what’s your plan to vote in Ohio before 7:30pm tomorrow for folks who will fight for our democracy?
Read 4 tweets
Y'all, with our win in court in New Hampshire this week, the 50th state is officially done with map drawing, the congressional redistricting landscape is clear - and Democrats and #FairMaps supporters have a lot to celebrate! 🧵
Democrats are not only in a stronger position than we were last decade, we are unequivocally in a stronger position than Republicans. Most importantly, the maps overall are way more fair than last decade. The receipts: 🧾👇
Democrats officially have more seats on the congressional map than Republicans - there are now 226 Biden seats to just 209 Trump seats. (This is +1 in Biden seats compared to 2020 and a vast improvement over 2012.)
Read 7 tweets
While we wait for the Comm'n to come back, worth noting something:

Hired mappers (D and R) drew maps that were fair and could've gotten bipartisan support.

But the GOP just passed a set of maps that is 99.74% identical to the ones SCOhio just struck down as unconstitutional.
They changed just 5 districts on the maps and those changes still reflect 90-100% matches to the last set of maps that were passed on Feb 24 and that were struck down by the Court just 10 days ago.

Now, if it were me I wouldn't worked harder to change them, but WHAT DO I KNOW?!
Comm'n back in action.

Sykes moving for Comm'n to consider Johnson/McDonald maps (which were finished about 10 mins after GOP voted for their gerrymandered maps)

LaRose: how much time bc I have to direct BOEs (ACTUALLY SCOhio still has jurisdiction over this so you can't yet!)
Read 13 tweets
Good evening from the Ohio Statehouse where the GOP Gang of 5 on the Commission might force a vote on “fixed” maps that have been entirely invalidated by SCOhio just 10 days ago as being unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

No one has seen these maps & no public input will be taken
In case anyone needs a reminder about why we’re here - 5 days after independent mappers worked tirelessly to pump out new fair maps - it’s because the GOP refuses to accept reality that #FairMaps mean they lose power they don’t deserve in the first place.
Cannot possibly imagine SCOhio will enjoy watching the GOP brazenly ignore their clear order that instructed them to use outside mappers to - as an entire Comm'n with both Ds and Rs involved - help draw maps and to adopt them in a more bipartisan way.

Read 28 tweets
It appears like Huffman’s biggest concerns are how best to protect his GOP incumbents - in direct conflict with what SCOhio just told him 1.5 weeks ago was NOT an interest rooted in the constitution.
McDonald reminds everyone he told them from the jump he has to leave today at 5pm (in 20 minutes) to be in person to teach a class of his tomorrow.

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫
Read 34 tweets
The Redistricting Commission has before it yet another reasonable set of state legislative maps to consider.

The only thing standing between Ohioans and #FairMaps is - as has always been the case - the GOP Gang of 5 insistent on gerrymandering our maps and undermining our vote. Image
My full statement (thread to follow):

The Republican Commissioners have had everything they need to draw fair maps for months: clear guidelines, a selection of perfectly reasonable maps to choose from, and Democratic colleagues ready and willing to negotiate.
Now the Commission has yet another set of reasonable state legislative maps before them that have been drawn by independent map drawers. Given all of this, any claims that Republicans do not have clarity on what it takes to draw fair maps are at best disingenuous.
Read 5 tweets
Good morning from the Ohio Statehouse on the day our fourth set of state legislative maps are due because the GOP refuses to pass the #FairMaps voters deserve and that our constitution requires.

Hearing pushed back already to 10:30am so…things are lookin’ good lol!
Additional context for today:

Faber was just in the mapping room saying he doesn't think they will land the plane today.

FWIW not landing the plane isn’t actually an option because LOL the Court ordered them to pass maps by today.

Tick tock, folks!
Hearing that this morning’s meeting, whenever it happens, will likely be short bc mappers just got incumbent data.

Again worth a reminder that #FairMaps should cater to the people and not to politicians!
Read 18 tweets
❗️REDISTRICTING HEARING❗️

Comm'n poised to meet today at 4pm to hear from outside mappers on their full drafts.

Reminder - #FairMaps have:

4️⃣5️⃣D House seats
1️⃣5️⃣D Sen seats

& (among those) toss ups that reflect the purple parts of Ohio (not given to just 1 party)
Here's out the ind mappers' maps stack up to those #FairMaps numbers:

McDonald House
51 safe R, 3 competitive lean R
42 safe D, 3 competitive lean D

Johnson House
53 safe R, 2 competitive lean R
41 safe D, 3 competitive lean D
And for Senate - here's how the ind mappers' map stack up to #FairMaps numbers:

McDonald Senate
18 safe R, 0 competitive lean R
13 safe D, 2 competitive lean D

Johnson Senate
17 safe R, 1 competitive lean R
13 safe D, 2 competitive lean D
Read 85 tweets
“Repeated failure to draw constitutional maps is closing off options. Was that the plan all along?”

UM, YES.

The Rs - from the jump - have done all they can to try to maintain as close to the status quo as possible to undermine our democracy. cleveland.com/opinion/2022/0…
“The evidence for this is unclear but suggestive -- although the process is far from over.”

The evidence is NOT unclear!

They didn’t convene the Comm’n until AUGUST of last year (less than a month before first map due date). Hearings didn’t start until 1 week before deadline.
Final R maps have come out just hours or minutes before final votes on them took place.

They have curbed any real public input opportunities that’d facilitate actual dialogue and they’ve ignored all we’ve said to them about what we want under #FairMaps.
Read 6 tweets
Hello from the Ohio Statehouse waiting for the (now) 4:30pm commission hearing to start and watching the tech folks figure out how to use Zoom for virtual testimony and dying a little inside thinking about how we should’ve had this all along 😭😵‍💫😭 Image
How well timed - just realized I released this statement ONE YEAR AGO in conjunction with testifying on Rep. @brigidekelly’s HB55, which would’ve allowed for virtual testimony for all legislative hearings to #KeepDemocracyOpen and safe for all of us 😵‍💫🥴😵‍💫🥴 Image
And *another* statement from me ONE YEAR AGO when we were already calling on legislators and Commissioners to immediately begin prep for our mapping process despite a census delay bc that would be necessary to get #FairMaps

😭😵‍💫😭😵‍💫😭😵‍💫😭 Image
Read 75 tweets
*clears throat*

MOVE BACK THE PRIMARY UNTIL AFTWE WE GET #FAIRMAPS!

And, yes, move it back for *all* races. There is plenty of time to do so and 2 Dem-sponsored bills waiting for consideration.

GOP needs to stop playing politics with our democracy - that includes you, Frank 😑
A reminder about for what reasons we have recently moved the primary:

The Ohio GOP moved our presidential primary in 2016 up to March so that John Kasich could win Ohio and to fit in with national GOP primary rules.

They’re not moving it now to maintain gerrymandered power. 💀
Ugh - after*

Typos really do increase relative to my inner rage about the GOP’s insistent drive to undermine our democracy and the folks in the pro-democracy space who are low-key helping them do it.

Okay have a great Saturday 🙃
Read 5 tweets
Three years ago, I helped @EricHolder launch @AllOnTheLine, a people-powered campaign to fight gerrymandering and advocate for fair redistricting. All On The Line is driven by the core belief that voters should choose their representatives—not the other way around.
Since then, folks across the country have participated in the redistricting process—many for the first time. It’s a testament to the work @AllOnTheLine has done to help folks understand why fair maps matter, and make an impact in their communities.
In North Carolina, Karla Icaza De Austin, an Army veteran from Fayetteville, urged her state legislators to demand transparency, accountability, and fairness in the redistricting process—and reminded them of their duty to follow the will of the people.
Read 5 tweets
Debunking GOP talking points time!

Up first - this from the Senate GOP who apparently lost their copy of the Court’s latest order which (to me!) pretty clearly laid out guidance for how this was supposed to go.

Waiting until day 7 or 8 of 10 to convene? Not what they ordered.
Next up - this from DeWine.

*clears throat*

OHIO’S POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO GERRYMANDER!

It is ✨entirely possible✨ to draw #FairMaps for Ohio even taking political geography into account. You just need the political will to do so. The GOP doesn’t have it.
Today’s the day for empty statements, I guess, incl this one from LaRose.

I’d perhaps believe the GOP more if we weren’t 70% through a second redraw process without any proposed maps or idea when they’re going to convene.

Without real action, their words are empty.
Read 6 tweets
Wait, what?

Baltimore County's response to the @ACLU_MD @NAACPBaltCounty's charges that their district map violates the Voting Right Act is no "rebuttal."

wypr.org/wypr-news/2022…
To REBUT is "to refute by evidence or argument"

But as @ACLU_MD's Debbie Jeon says, the county’s legal arguments are "surprisingly weak."

The county's attorney admits his office “does not have...the requisite subject matter expertise to handle this complex legal matter.”
While the @ACLU_MD and @NAACPBaltCounty filed comprehensive expert analyses to support their claims, the County brought in ONLY ONE expert, Dr. James Gimpel from the University of Maryland, to support theirs.

Hmm, some rebuttal!
Read 8 tweets
13 years ago today, our chairman, @EricHolder, was sworn in as the first Black Attorney General of the United States ⚖️🇺🇸

We’re pretty proud he’s our boss 😎#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
.@EricHolder is a born-and-bred New Yorker, husband, dad, basketball fan, internationally-recognized leader on legal issues, & staunch advocate for civil rights. He has served in government for 30+ years—having been appointed to positions by Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Reagan.
He served in the Obama Administration as the 82nd U.S. Attorney General. In his tenure, AG @EricHolder vigorously defended voting rights & led the Justice Department’s efforts to overturn politically-motivated voter ID laws that were designed to suppress minority and youth votes.
Read 4 tweets
Hearing starts in just under 5 minutes - no word on whether we'll see any new maps and no public input allowed.

Commission is working on a Saturday deadline, so we've got just 2 days left to deliver #FairMaps for Ohio 😐
I'm at home (if they're not accepting testimony, I'll pass on unnecessary potential covid exposures at the Statehouse thank u!), but hearing that everyone *was* in the room, but Faber, Cupp, and Huffman just walked out.

🧐
Read 22 tweets
A month ago, @julianejonesjr @Tom_Quirk @CouncilmanIzzy @WadeKach @CathyCouncil6 of the BaltCo Council voted unanimously for a district map that unlawfully dilutes the minority vote.

We warned them that the county would be sued.

🔥That was not an empty threat.🔥

🧵#FairMaps
The lawsuit against @BaltCoGov's racist district map, in which 6 of 7 districts are majority white despite the county being 48% people of color, has now been filed.

👉🏾The @ACLU_MD @NAACPBaltCounty are asking the court for an immediate injunction.

aclu-md.org/en/press-relea…
Even for those familiar with Baltimore County's history of racial exclusion, the evidence presented in these filings is DEVASTATING.

MUST READ: aclu-md.org/sites/default/…
Read 14 tweets
What a joy to be reintroduced to the soothing hold music of the Ohio Channel!

Live tweets about the Commission's hearing (starting in 3 minutes) will be on a thread here.

It's time for #FairMaps - Take 2!
You can also tune into dueling live-tweet updates between me and the AOTL Ohio account here.

No matter where you follow, tho, be sure to sign up to testify for #FairMaps - we need your voice! bit.ly/pledgetotestif…

(Not so?) Fun fact: Rep. Russo is Minority Leader-Elect because the House hasn't been in session and, thus, an official vote hasn't been held to swear her into this role.

Glad she's serving on the Comm'n, tho, bc she'll be a strong champ for #FairMaps!
Read 12 tweets
Some worry that making changes to the filibuster (there are more than 160 already) will make the Senate more polarized—more like the House—undermining the stability of federal policy. /1
This concern is driven by how polarized our politics has grown. To prove the point, Mitch McConnell (using comic-villain language) threatened to burn down the Senate if Democrats alter the filibuster to pass critical voting & democracy reforms. /2
Of course, this concern is overblown: the filibuster has not saved the Senate from becoming dysfunctional & polarized or ensured stable federal laws and policies. /3
Read 27 tweets
📣In one hour we'll be discussing the impacts of #redistricting on #Latino voters in Florida, who make up 1/4 of the state yet who stand to lose #Representation under newly drawn maps. Follow the discussion
👉LIVESTREAM: @EthnicMediaSvc
@kiraromero @latinojustice
Welcome to today’s briefing on Florida’s redistricting process and what it means for Latino voters, co-hosted by @EthnicMediaSVC, @LatinoJustice and @scsj and moderated by @PilarMarrero.
Read our report on how #redistricting in Southern states is eroding fair and equal #representation for communities of color. 👇ethnicmediaservices.org/redistricting/…
Read 27 tweets

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