Gerrymander Gazette: Stronger Together Edition
New Report Examines Native Americans’ Fight for Fair Maps
Common Cause, National Congress of American Indians, and Tribal Democracy Project released Stronger Together: Native Americans’ Fight for Fair Redistricting. This report spotlights the organizing that Tribal Nations and Native American communities engaged in to ensure fair representation in the 2020 redistricting cycle. It also examines the absence of Voting Rights Act preclearance and how Native populations responded to the challenge. Our recommendations chart a path forward for ensuring effective representation for Tribal Nations and Native communities in the future. Read the report here.
Historic Win in Minnesota
Last Thursday, the Minnesota State Legislature approved an election bill that would end prison gerrymandering in the state. Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law the next day. Prison gerrymandering occurs as a result of the U.S. Census Bureau counting incarcerated people where they are imprisoned instead of their pre-incarceration address for the purposes of drawing voting districts. As the Prison Gerrymandering Project notes, imprisoned people are barred from voting in 48 states and usually return home after their imprisonment ends. As a result, counting people at a prison unfairly skews the population of voting districts. Minnesota is the 19th state to address this issue.
U.S. Supreme Court Approves Second Majority-Black Louisiana Congressional District
Black residents of Louisiana make up one-third of the state’s population, but the state’s congressional map only includes one majority-Black district out of six. Following a successful challenge to the map as a violation of the Voting Rights Act, the legislature approved a new map that includes two congressional districts in which Black voters can elect their preferred candidate. Although this remedial map is still the subject of a legal challenge, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling approving it for the 2024 election to meet Louisiana’s May 15 deadline for establishing districts.
This newsletter has been produced by Common Cause and compiled by Dan Vicuna. Subscribe to the Gerrymander Gazette here. For more information or to pass along news, contact Dan Vicuna.