People Powered Fair Maps in Connecticut

People Powered Fair Maps in Connecticut

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From 2020 Census Outreach to Promoting A Fair and Transparent Redistricting Process in 2021 and Beyond

Connecticut passed their new state House and Senate district plans in November 2021. Each passed unanimously in their 9-person bipartisan Reapportionment Commission; however, the process has been criticized for legislators controlling the process and for the negotiations that serve to protect incumbents. The League of Women Voters of Connecticut asked Kyle Evans of Trinity College and Catherine T. Chang of the University of Washington to provide analyses of the new maps. The full report is now available HERE.

People Powered Fair Map Participation Certificate digitalIn 2019, the League of Women Voters launched People Powered Fair Maps™ to end discriminatory gerrymandering, the practice of drawing electoral maps for political gain. The goal: to create fair and transparent, people-powered redistricting processes nationwide and to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering.

As a participant in People Powered Fair Maps™, the League of Women Voters of Connecticut focused on the need for transparency, public involvement, and nonpartisanship in the 2021 redistricting process. 

Did you know? In 2020, four of 36 senators and 26 of 151 legislators in Connecticut ran unopposed. If those districts had been competitively drawn, voters would have had a choice.
 

We want districts to be drawn fairly - in a way that allow the voters to choose their representatives. Not the other way around. Ideally, drawing fair maps in Connecticut would mean:

  • An end to redistricting BY representatives FOR representatives
  • A nonpartisan commission in charge of redistricting
  • Connecticut voters providing oversight and input throughout the entire process

 

Congressional districts and government legislative bodies should be apportioned substantially on population. We oppose partisan and racial gerrymandering that strips rights away from voters.

 

 

 

 

 

VICTORY! An end to Prison Gerrymandering: During the 2021 legislative session, Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill to end prison gerrymandering. LWVCT joined forces with the NAACP-CT, the ACLU, the Yale Rule of Law Clinic, and others who worked hard over the years to advance legislation to end this practice. We testified in support of the legislation and continue to work to educate state residents about this redistricting issue.

2021 Redistricting Summer Series

 

Past Blog Posts

The Connecticut Mirror hosted "Redistricting in CT: Drawing a Better Map" on April 29, 2021. The 2020 Census gives Americans a chance to redraw their district lines. How can Connecticut use this opportunity to create an electoral system that serves its people? Moderated by John Dankosky, the panelists discuss what redistricting is, how it is done in Connecticut, and why we should pay attention to the process.

LWVCT Board member  Patricia Rossi explains the redistricting process in Connecticut and takes questions from the audience in this special presentation on March 24, 2021.

The LWVCT sponsored forum on Redistricting and the Perils of Gerrymandering held March 23, 2019 at the Yale Law School.

Do you want to stay in the loop on all things redistricting in Connecticut? Email us at redistricting [at] lwvct.org
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