SPEAK OUT to HAVE A VOICE IN ELECTIONS

 

REDISTRICTING TOWN HALL

 

Hosted by the General Assembly Reapportionment & Redistricting Committees

 

MONDAY JULY 26TH AT 5:00 P.M.

College of Coastal Georgia

Southeast Georgia Conference Center

3 Mariner Way Brunswick, GA 31520

 

ARRIVE EARLY

The public is invited to present 2-5 minute testimonials

Sign-up starts at 4:30 P.M. outside the meeting room

 

KEY TALKING POINTS

 

• District boundaries should be drawn for fair representation and not to favor any political party. They should:

• Be based on Census 2020 results, rather than alternative data sets like the American Community Survey, which only samples populations.
• Have reasonably equal populations
• Comply with the federal Voting Rights Act
• Keep communities of interest together in a single district
• Be geographically compact
• Disregard political considerations
• Georgia should have an independent redistricting commission draw the boundaries and avoid gerrymandering.
• In Georgia, there is no mandated deadline for redistricting, so elected officials have time to change the process and make it fair.
• Ask: Will you publicly commit to vote for an independent redistricting commission?

 

WHAT IS REDISTRICTING AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

 

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries in all states. These districts determine individual and community representation at the local, state, and federal levels.

 

While some states have independent commissions that draw maps, in Georgia, state and federal district maps are drawn by the state legislature. Our current county commissioners will draw districts for county districts, which will go to the state legislature for approval.

 

This leaves the process open to gerrymandering, the practice of drawing districts to favor one political party or racial group. Gerrymandering skews election results, makes races less competitive, hurts communities of color, and thwarts the will of the voters.

 

A good and fair redistricting process will be open and transparent, allowing communities to ask questions and give input. You can hold those crafting the district lines accountable by paying attention and speaking up (www.brennancenter.org).

 

Have questions? Reach out to our friends at A Better Glynn at info@abetterglynn.org and go to www.brennancenter.org.

 

Download this document https://bit.ly/townhall-glynn

 

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PUBLIC HEARINGS- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment

Written Public Comment

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