With help from our grassroots partners, we organized a statewide redistricting program. Our program prioritizes public education, outreach, and organizing across Alabama to advocate for fair and equal representation for all Alabamians.
YOUR VOTE MATTERS!
The invisible line dividing two of Alabama’s congressional districts slices through Montgomery, near iconic sites from the civil rights movement as well as ones more personal to Evan Milligan.
There’s the house where his grandfather loaded people into his station wagon and drove them to their jobs during the Montgomery Bus Boycott as Black residents spurned city buses to protest segregation. It’s the same home where his mother lived as a child, just yards from a whites-only park and zoo she was not allowed to enter.
The spot downtown where Rosa Parks was arrested, igniting the boycott, sits on one side of the dividing line while the church pastored by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who led the protests, sits on the other.
The lines are at the center of a high-stakes redistricting case bearing Milligan’s name that will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, setting up a new test of the Voting Rights Act and the role of race in drawing congressional boundaries.
Kim Chandler, Mark Sherman, Gary Fields | October 3, 2022
The Supreme Court on Tuesday is hearing arguments in an Alabama redistricting case that could further erode the landmark Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting.
Why it matters: It puts on the chopping block a portion of the act that civil rights groups and minority voters have relied on for decades to challenge racially discriminatory redistricting maps.
The ruling could also carry implications for how other states draw their own congressional maps.
Erin Doherty | October 4, 2022
On November 3, the Alabama Legislature passed Alabama’s statewide maps. However, it’s not too late to get involved in the local redistricting process happening now in Alabama’s towns, cities, and counties.
Most Alabamians are not familiar with the local redistricting process and why it matters. Local elected officials have limited knowledge and often don’t adequately share information on their redistricting plans or engage public input.
This is a concern because local maps have a direct impact on community resources for the next decade. When elected officials don’t allow public input on these maps, they keep residents from advocating for the needs of their community.
Once every 10 years, Alabamians have a unique opportunity to determine the future of our state through redistricting. Our districts determine how we will be represented; and how funds for schools, hospitals, and other essential services will be allocated to our communities.
Redistricting is happening right now. It is crucial our voices are heard and respected by legislators in the map-drawing process. Join us now and contact your state legislator’s to demand (we’ve made it easy) fair and equitable maps.
The Alabama state legislature has passed Alabama’s Congressional, State House, Senate and State Board of Education district maps.
These maps passed by the majority party mirror previous district maps that have long been criticized by civil rights leaders, legal experts, and the Congressional map deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court based on race.
The state legislature was presented alternate maps that more fairly represent Alabama as a whole. The majority party had a clear choice to support fair maps, championed by many who spoke out in the public and Committee hearings, and did not.
Although the district maps have been approved by the state legislature, our fight is not over. Alabamians deserve fair representation. Join us by contacting your legislator to express your disappointment in the redistricting process and the maps the legislature approved.
Gerrymandering is one of elected officials’ most effective tools in silencing our voice. Gerrymandering is the intentional manipulation of the map-drawing process by elected officials who seek to maintain or unfairly change the direction of political power.
When maps are drawn to benefit elected officials or for partisan gain alone, many communities lose critical resources such as funding for schools, healthcare, and public safety initiatives.
Join us by contacting your legislator to demand that legislators prioritize everyday Alabamians instead of elected officials by drawing FAIR maps, reflective of Alabama as a whole. We made it easy, send your letter in just a few clicks!
Join us now to demand that legislators:
Draw fair and equitable maps that are truly representative of Alabama, and hold public hearings after the committee’s maps have been made available. These hearings should be held outside of workdays and working hours to ensure the broadest public participation.
Public comments are critical to the redistricting process as the legislature is required to take public input into consideration when drawing the district lines. You can submit public comments to the Reapportionment Committee through October 27. Use your voice and submit public comments today!
There’s also still time to submit written comments and people-drawn maps until the first day of the special session (October 28th). For more information, email us at info@voteprotection.org. Together, we can make sure Alabama’s legislative and Congressional maps are the most inclusive and representative in history.
Our organization has drafted a sample letter you can print to mail to your legislator(s) of choice. When you download it, make sure to include necessary information, such as your name and address, to get the best chance of response.
Once you download the letter and print it, find your legislator(s) and mail your letter!
Prisons are disproportionately built in rural areas, but a majority of incarcerated people call urban areas home. Counting prisoners in the incorrect place results in a systematic transfer of population and political influence from urban to rural areas.
May 24, 2022
Primary Election
June 21, 2022
Primary Runoff
November 8, 2022
2022 General Election
Our tools page has access to several great resources to aid and assist Alabamians who are interested in learning more or becoming involved in the community line-drawing process, including map drawing software, informative videos, information on trainings, and more
