Letters to the Editor

MassVote urges passage of new state voting districts

The new proposed maps for the Statehouse and state Senate dramatically increase the number of majority-minority seats, while keeping many communities together. A few small changes may be appropriate to make the maps even better, but, substantially, these maps mark a major step forward for the cause of voting rights, and I urge state legislators to pass them into law.

As a young girl, I remember family members marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a black woman, a community activist and a resident of Dorchester, voting rights have always mattered to me. When district lines are drawn to prevent communities from having their say, voting itself means little. That is why the redistricting process has been so important to MassVOTE, and why I am so pleased with the new maps.

For the past 10 months, I have met with individuals and organizations across the state as part of Drawing Democracy, a statewide, multi-racial coalition dedicated to promoting a transparent and accountable redistricting process.  I heard from people all over the state and they wanted their communities to be united — not split — by district lines. They wanted districts to empower people of color, so that African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos in our state can have a say in state politics commensurate with their numbers in our population.

The Statehouse and state Senate’s proposed maps move us closer than ever before to those goals.

In the state Senate, I want to particularly express MassVOTE’s strong support for the three proposed majority-minority districts, one in Hampden County, and two in Boston.  Each of the two Boston districts creates an opportunity for people of color to elect the person of their choice. This is a substantially better choice than creating a single majority-minority district that would pack voters, reducing their overall clout.

I note that the Second Suffolk district is improved under this plan by adding more precincts that are majority African American and reducing the number of majority-white precincts.

In the Statehouse, MassVOTE is pleased that the number of majority-minority districts has doubled, from 10 to 20. Given that people of color make up roughly 20 percent of the state population, this new map matches our Commonwealth well.

 This process is not over … and for that, too, I am grateful. The two-week comment period — now about half over — invites public participation.

MassVOTE urges state legislators to continue to scrutinize the new maps, to look for ways to increase the percentage of people of color in all these new districts, while maintaining the two senate seats of color in Boston, the additional majority-minority senate seat in Hampden, and the 20 majority-minority seats in the Statehouse.

Thank you for your work so far in this project. The redistricting process will help shape political power in Massachusetts for the next decade. If these maps become law, the Commonwealth will have made a major step forward for voting rights.

We look forward as well to seeing the draft of the U.S. Congressional map, and hope that it expresses the same commitment to racial justice and voting rights by maintaining and improving the Eighth Congressional district, increasing the people of color within that district as much as possible.

Cheryl Crawford
Co-Director, MassVOTE