Redistricting
If you want to know why an elected official votes and acts the way they do, visit their district and meet their constituents. The shape and demographics of a political district largely determine what type of person represents that district. Those district lines also play an outsized role in determining the partisan, racial, and ideological makeup of a political body, which is why redistricting is at the nexus of all political power.
Because redistricting is so important to every issue, it’s one of our top priorities. Our campaigns on federal, state, and local redistricting revolve around two principles: 1) Competitiveness, and 2) Fairness. But why do we choose those two principles and what do they mean?
Competitiveness
It’s hard to deny that America is in a state of deep social and political polarization and division. While redistricting isn’t responsible for that, it does exacerbate the problem. Too many federal, state, and local political districts are drawn so that they are “safe” for one party or another, which means the only “competition” in most political races is among two or more people of the same political party. That dynamic incentivizes candidates to move to the political extremes during their election and then once they are elected, and disincentivizes cooperation.
Districts that are more competitive between political parties and encourage independent candidates breed more moderation and true problem-solving, as opposed to the focus on hot-button cultural issues that make headlines but do little to actually help people.
Fairness
To us, fairness is about ensuring that political districts and bodies reflect the overall demographics of a population. In particular, we believe that racial groups should have representation that reflects their share of the total electorate in an area. The simplest, most obvious example of this is Louisiana’s congressional map. We advocated for a second majority-minority congressional district because about one-third of Louisiana’s population identifies as Black, which means that two of our six congressional districts should be majority-minority.
The less that political bodies accurately reflect the demographics of the total region they represent, the more people feel disenfranchised from the political process. That disenfranchisement can lead to many political and societal problems, but chief among them is a general sense of cynicism about politics that is hugely damaging to our society.
Redistricting Resources
Below, we provide several resources for learning more about redistricting, including:
louisiana.redistrictingandyou.org: This is a project we worked on with the City University of New York Graduate Center. This redistricting tool makes it easy to view and compare past, current, and proposed maps. Check out the tool below or visit the website.
Redistricting in the Press: Stay up-to-date with all of the latest news coverage of redistricting in Louisiana.
Redistricting Research & Advocacy: Learn more about redistricting and how to become a redistricting advocate with reports, research, and surveys from us and our partnersCompare the previous map, the current map (which was likely nullified by the SCOTUS ruling), and some potential new maps at louisiana.redistrictingandyou.org.
You can also learn more about the latest redistricting process in Louisiana in two articles our Executive Director wrote for Democracy Docket, one that was published last year after the current map went into effect and another that was published in June, right after the recent SCOTUS ruling.
