
Every ten years, we have a census to count every person in every community. And every ten years, we redraw our political district boundaries to ensure equal population in each of our districts for equal representation. This process is called redistricting, and it is base zero in determining the battle lines of our democracy. Redistricting sets the district boundaries where we hold elections to elect our local, state, and federal government elected officials.
Throughout history, redistricting has been used as a tool to marginalize communities of color through a tactic called "gerrymandering". This is where politicians and special interest groups divide or "pack" people of color in districts that dilute our voting power in favor of a political party. It is crucial that we take action to prevent this dilution of people of color's voting power in this redistricting process so our communities can be fairly drawn into districts where we can elect representatives who will fight for our priorities and interests.
In Washington, a bipartisan independent commission of two Democrats, two Republicans, and one nonpartisan non-voting member redraws our state legislative and federal congressional district boundaries.
We at Redistricting Justice for Washington are asking you to send an email to the Redistricting Commission to ensure communities of color and Native American Tribes are empowered in this year's redistricting process and not unfairly divided. Send this email to fight for fair representation for people of color.