Target: Chris Pringle, Speaker pro Tempore of the Alabama House
Goal: Fulfill reapportionment committee’s obligation to draw more equitable redistricting maps.
From Ohio to Florida, challenges are being made to Congressional maps that can determine the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of the most contentious cases should have been settled recently by the nation’s highest court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Alabama plaintiffs who charged that the state’s legislature (a supermajority of Republicans) was stripping Black voters of their influence, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling ordered a new Congressional map to be drawn that would include one more majority-Black district.
When the legislature submitted their newly drawn map, however, no such district was present. And to make matters worse, the one majority-Black district that did exist on the map had been further depleted of Black residents. The legislature had intentionally ignored an order from the Supreme Court and reinforced a disparity (only one out of seven current Congressional districts is majority-Black) in a state where fully one-quarter of the population is Black.
Sign the petition below to demand this power-flaunting and rule-breaking group of supposed leaders go back to the drawing board.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Representative Pringle,
When exactly did the United States become a nation where its own political leaders can flagrantly violate the laws it enacts? The legislature you lead received a mandate from this nation’s highest court to ensure Congressional maps were fair and in proportion to Alabama’s population. You chose to ignore this ruling as if it were a meaningless request.
Are voting rights really such a trivial issue unworthy of the state’s leaders? Honor the Supreme Court’s order and show all citizens of Alabama that they have a voice in democracy.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Mikhail Nilov
558 Signatures