Friend,

The results are in, and 73% of Courage California members want California
to redraw our Congressional maps in order to stop Texas and other states
from stealing the next election.

All eyes are on our legislature now to see whether they will put an
amendment on a November special election ballot to give our state
representatives the power to redraw maps. Currently, Congressional maps
are under the purview of an independent redistricting commission.

Redistricting in the middle of a census cycle has massive implications for
our state that reach far beyond 2026, and Courage California has an
important role to play in educating and engaging voters so that everyone
has a voice in this historic effort.

[ [link removed] ]We need to lay the groundwork to make any effort to redistrict for the
2026 election as democratic and transparent as possible! Will you donate
to help put our plans into motion?

[ [link removed] ]Donate

Gerrymandering has always been a hot-button issue, with politicians on
both sides of the aisle picking and choosing their voters in order to ease
their paths to victory.

But what Texas is doing is on a whole different level. Redrawing maps
usually takes place when a new census has come out or when a party changes
power. Texas is using it solely at the behest of Donald Trump, and with
the express intent of minimizing the voting power of people of color.

While some believe that California has a patriotic duty to do whatever
possible to stop Texas and other states from taking control of Congress
threw redrawn seats, others remember that we went to the polls in 2008 to
pass our Voters First Act, giving power to an independent commission to
draw our maps, and are not willing to hand that power back to the
California Assembly.

But most importantly, most people don’t know the facts about
gerrymandering. Voters’ knowledge about the legislation behind
redistricting, what Texas is trying to do, and how districts are drawn in
the first place is very slim, and we need to change that if we want them
to make the most informed decision possible about the California proposal.

That’s why we are ramping up our plans to:

* Producing explainers and a special election Courage Voter Guide and,
if and when it qualifies for the ballot, virtual events.
* Share critical information on our vast social media network.
* Organizing partners statewide to coordinate field and digital voter
engagement.

This work is resource intensive, and we’re having to pivot quickly!

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to help ensure this redistricting effort is as
democratic and transparent as possible?

Thank you for staying in the fight!

–Irene, along with Annie, Angela, Isidra, Cecilia, Jen, and Lindsay (the
Courage team)

[ [link removed] ]SUPPORT OUR WORK



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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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