Welcome to People For’s Action of the Week, where we give you one thing you can do to protect our democracy each week. This week, we’re asking you to add your name to urge the Senate to stop extreme partisan gerrymandering by passing the redistricting provisions in the For the People Act! Keep reading to learn more about how gerrymandering is a threat to our voting rights and how to take your action one step further.
The Issue: Across the Country, Right Wing Lawmakers Are Trying to Choose Their Voters
This month, the U.S. Census Bureau released critical district-level data and set off what will be the most consequential redistricting battle of our generation. Control of the House of Representatives hangs in the balance, and with Democrats’ slim five-seat majority, it’s widely recognized that extreme partisan gerrymandering in just a handful of states could deliver Republicans the majority.
The For the People Act (S. 1) includes robust provisions designed to eliminate all partisan gerrymandering by both laying out easily applied rules for district maps and providing protections for communities of color. In order to ensure that our district maps are drawn fairly in a way that allows communities to choose their leaders, and with enough time for any changes to be implemented before the 2022 midterms, it is critical that these provisions are passed without delay.
In addition to the voter suppression laws you’ve heard so much about this year in states like Georgia and Arizona, gerrymandering voting districts is one more tool the Far Right plans to use to steal the next election.
If we don’t act right away, power-hungry politicians will abuse their control of the redistricting process to cement their grip on power – no matter what the voters have to say about it.
The Action: Add Your Name to Urge the Senate to Act Now!
The House has already taken vital action to stop partisan gerrymandering with its passage of the For the People Act. Now the Senate needs to do the same and rein in state legislatures across the country eager to draw districts that subvert democracy.
We’re on the verge of anti-democracy power grab that only the Senate can stop.
If you agree that voters should choose our representatives and not the other way around, then sign this petition to demand that the Senate pass urgently needed restrictions on extreme partisan gerrymandering right away!
Voters are supposed to pick their representatives – not the other way around.
Tell your senators: end extreme partisan gerrymandering. Pass the #ForThePeopleAct. Add your name at https://t.co/7aUZVBLA2k. #ActionOfTheWeek pic.twitter.com/V24xzx02XI
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) August 19, 2021