Ohio is among 4 of the most gerrymandered states, Fair Fight Action says and as extremists continue to design maps to block representation of Blacks and to dilute Black political power....By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's black digital news leader
By | By Fair Fight Action Have you heard the pro-voter news out of Alabama and Florida? In both states, anti-voter extremists had tried to weaken Black political power by manipulating the congressional redistricting process — but courts have now struck down those efforts. Let's back up a little, talk about how we got here, and lay out what comes next. States recently had to launch their once-a-decade process of redrawing district lines, also known as redistricting. And it opened the door for extremists to further obstruct democracy through racial gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the process of drawing district boundaries, often in illogical ways, to intentionally advantage one political party. And it's one of the many tactics extremists are using to dilute the voting power of Black, brown, and young voters. How? By packing certain voters into as few districts as possible. Here's what that looked like in four states — and here's where those efforts stand: Alabama How did this happen? Well, the extremist governor and state legislature refused to fairly represent the Black population when they recently redrew their Congressional map. The U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled that their map was unconstitutional. Still, the state's leaders openly defied a federal court order and tried to go ahead with their original plan. But in late September, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to block that map — a victory for the pro-democracy movement. Florida Georgia Ohio We'll keep an eye on these cases and continue pushing back against attempts to weaken Black political power. Make no mistake, gerrymandering is part of a larger national agenda to block representation for marginalized groups and push ballot access further out of reach. As extremists inevitably continue to design unfair maps, we'll fight back even harder to ensure that eligible voters can make their voices heard. Thanks for all your support, The Fair Fight Action Team
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