Friends,

I want to share two things with you — one is disappointing, and the other is encouraging. 

First, new findings from the Brennan Center show that since the Shelby County case gutted the Voting Rights Act, the voter turnout gap between white and Black voters has increased, especially in places that used to be protected by key provisions in the law.

Unfortunately, what this means is that the Shelby decision heralded in a new era of restrictive voting laws that disproportionately hurt communities of color.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of legislative maps that deliberately dilute the votes of Black Americans, excluding too many from the political process, has exacerbated this reality.

But here’s something encouraging. This year, after the fair maps movement successfully fought to create a second Black-opportunity congressional district in Alabama — so the state’s representatives can more accurately reflect the will of the people — voter turnout in that district’s primary went up 133%!

It’s clear that Alabama’s new representative map is a boon for political participation. That’s great news for democracy. When voters know they have an equal opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, they are more motivated to show up to the polls and fulfill their civic duties.

The extraordinary increase in voter turnout not only highlights the power of fairness in our electoral system, but also that previously gerrymandered maps were detrimental to voter turnout and discouraged voters from engaging in the political process altogether.

The simple takeaway from this is that when voters feel they will be heard, progress can occur. This is why we do the work, team.

We’ll never stop working for fair maps that make people free to make their voices heard — but we can’t do it without you. I hope this encouraging data inspires you to make a donation to All On The Line today so we can keep up our important work. 

Thank you,
Marina

Marina Jenkins
Executive Director
All On The Line

All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund. Support our work to end gerrymandering.

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