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Today’s Links:
Articles:  Ohio, New York, Kansas,  Alaska
How Partisan Gerrymandering Limits Voting Rights

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

We have four quick updates for you on state redistricting plans we’ve talked about in past weeks for Ohio, New York, Kansas and Alaska.

In Ohio, where the state supreme court rejected an earlier redistricting plan for state house and senate, the court has rejected yet another plan from the state’s redistricting commission, citing gerrymandering in favor of Republicans.   A date of June 3 was ordered for another map to be drawn.  If that map is rejected, a federal court order would default to the earlier rejected map.

In New York, Democrats are taking issue with a special master’s Congressional map, adopted by a federal court, which splits communities of color and pits incumbent legislators against one another. 

To Kansas, where a landmark case in state history last week found gerrymandered Congressional maps to be legal under the Kansas Constitution.  The new map dilutes the vote of  liberal-leaning Lawrence by moving it into a conservative district, and manipulates the Kansas City-area Congressional district 3 to dilute the vote in a majority Black area.  

Finally to Alaska – yes, Alaska – where the Alaska Supreme Court struck down a map for Alaska House of Representatives, for gerrymandering districts in Anchorage to Republican advantage.   The maps were changed by the courts to be more equitable. 

Despite what the politicians and the courts do, gerrymandering is never in the best interest of the voters.

We have links to more information for all these states at American Democracy Minute.org.

Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we have, it’s something we DO.” 

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.