John,

This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light for states to allow the gerrymandering of voting districts. We all deserve fair elections where our vote counts the same as everyone else.

Gerrymandering threatens to make every election less fair, so what is this practice? The term was coined over 200 years ago when a Massachusetts Governor named Elbridge Gerry made a voting district so bizarre looking it resembled a salamander.

Gerrymandered districts are drawn to benefit one political party, rather than group neighborhoods or certain areas of the state together. They are often drawn along racial and ethnic lines to isolate and divide communities. The district you live in is what gives you political representation, and it determines which candidates you can vote for and who else votes with you. When a district is gerrymandered, it is drawn to rig the power of your vote, segregating certain groups of people to hold on to political power. Voters should be picking their politicians, not the other way around.

The Supreme Court ruling is a reminder that even here in Washington, where we’ve worked for years to prevent gerrymandering, we need to stay ready. WCV is a proud member of the Washington Voting Justice Coalition and together our state has been out in front ensuring free and fair elections. To continue to prevent this practice, we have to understand how it’s changed and used today.

One way people have been kept out of the voting process is through racial gerrymandering. This practice spreads minority voters into enough districts where their vote would be overwhelmed. The passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act prohibited this type of gerrymandering, but left the door open to a new form of manipulation that reduces the voting power of communities of color - packing these communities into one district to reduce voting power to just that district.

Share this article by The Washington Post to raise awareness of gerrymandering being used to uphold racism in our political and democratic process.

Silencing the voices of voters of color takes away a fundamental right to participate equitably in our democracy and have our voices heard. Elections should serve as the say for communities on issues they care about. Too often gerrymandering is utilized as a tool to uphold racist policies and ideologies, and stands against our democratic process.

We know our solutions have to work for everyone in our state. That’s why environmental justice has to start with everyone’s voice being heard. This cannot be done without fair and equitable political representation and access. WCV is continuing to fight against rigged election rules and for more democratic systems.

Fair elections are at the cornerstone of a strong democracy and we know that when everyone’s vote counts, the environment wins.

Thank you for standing with us,

Emily Krieger
Political & Civic Engagement Manager

Image by The Washington Post