John,

Our democracy is under attack. And if we don’t act quickly, Republicans could be just a few months away from rigging a decade of elections.

In state after state, gerrymandering of congressional and state districts is solidifying Republican control. In Ohio, where Republicans win about 53% of the vote, political pundits favor Republicans to win 80% of congressional seats.[1]

In North Carolina, in 2016 the Democratic governor won re-election with 51% of the vote, the same year Donald Trump won the presidency with slightly less than 51%. However, even as Democrats are winning approximately 50% of the votes, they’re still ending up a small minority in the state legislature.

Closing polling centers, purging voter rolls, eliminating early voting, and curtailing mail-in voting aren’t the only ways that Republican-controlled state legislatures are attacking voting rights.

This week we expect a showdown in the U.S. Senate. Democrats are planning to force a vote on election reform and anti-gerrymandering legislation. If Republicans block the bill, as they are expected to, Majority Leader Schumer has vowed to bring up filibuster reform right away so that the voting rights measures can pass with a simple majority.[2]

So please, sign the petition and help us demand the U.S. Senate abolish the filibuster and immediately pass critical voting rights legislation to end partisan gerrymandering.

As states and communities across the country have become increasingly diverse, once Republican strongholds such as Texas and Georgia are now becoming toss-up states. But by manipulating the process of congressional redistricting required by the Constitution every 10 years, Republicans will win a permanent congressional majority anyway, if these new gerrymandered district lines are not overturned with federal legislation.

Over the past 10 years, Texas has gained about 4 million people in total population―with 95% of that new population being people of color. Yet, despite that there were no new majority minority districts drawn in Texas.

Georgia has become a quintessential battleground state, but thanks to Republican gerrymandering, Republicans are expected to win 9 or 10 of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, which has seen its demographics shift from 90% white in 1990 to 30% white today, this is not at all recognized by the maps drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would ban partisan gerrymandering and strengthen voting protections for communities of color.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund and our national allies in demanding the U.S. Senate abolish the filibuster and immediately pass critical voting rights legislation to end partisan gerrymandering.

In a democracy, voters should choose their elected officials and not the other way around. Otherwise, we will continue to have laws that reflect the views of the wealthy few, including a rigged tax system that values wealth over work and protects corporate interests over the publics’ interests.

Thank you,

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “Republicans are staging a legislative coup,” More Perfect Union, Jan. 5, 2022

[2] “Schumer makes plea for voting bill, filibuster reform in rare Friday session,” The Hill, Jan. 7, 2022