You may wonder, with the 2020 elections behind us, what does 2021 have in store when it comes to voting rights? Yes, municipal elections are taking place across the state, but there's another issue of equally great importance that will impact all Massachusetts residents. That issue is the redistricting process.
Every 10 years, the state legislature uses census data to redraw legislative districts for both state and federal officials. This includes your state representative, who represents around 40,000 people, and your U.S. representative, who represents around 700,000 people. The state legislature works to ensure that every Massachusetts resident receives equal representation on Beacon Hill and in Washington, DC.
But the redistricting process is about more than simply drawing districts: it's about drawing districts that ensure the electability of diverse candidates that actually look like their district, promoting equity in our political system. According to research commissioned by Lawyers for Civil Rights, at least five state House of Representative districts and one state Senate district have become majority-minority in the past 10 years. This brings the likely number of majority-minority districts in Massachusetts to 26 out of 200, with many more closing in on majority-minority status.
It's essential that Massachusetts draw districts that empower Black and brown, low-income, and immigrant communities. Creating majority-minority districts is one way the state can do this. Yet we must advocate to make this possible. That's why we're proud to introduce you to a coalition that we have long been a part of: the Drawing Democracy Coalition.
The Drawing Democracy Coalition is a collection of community organizations, civil rights lawyers, public policy advocates, data and mapping experts, and political scientists with the shared goal of ensuring the most equitable redistricting process possible. To do this, we aim to collaborate with legislators, speak at public hearings, and raise public awareness around the redistricting process.
Right now, you can help us make this possible. Subscribe to Drawing Democracy's weekly newsletter, follow the coalition on Twitter, and like the coalition on Facebook. You can also learn everything there is to learn about redistricting and why it matters for our democracy here.
Thank you, as always, for your support. When it comes to redistricting, we know that we can count on it once more.
- All of us at MassVOTE
